Freelance's Ereannie Week 2015
by Freelance7
Summary: From Fight Club to Unconditional Love, we explore the 7 themes of this years Ereannie week. Hope you enjoy!
1. Day 1: Fight Club

A/N: Happy Ereannie Week 2015, guys! We had 7 themes lined up for this week. This one is:

**Day 1: Fight Club**

The alley in between the pizza restaurant and the apartment block was always silent at night. Not even a vagrant spends his time pissing around here. All it contained was a few doors and one flickering light hanging halfway down it, giving a nice emphasis on how degraded this area has become. But it was also a place for fun. It was just hidden underground.

And it was the place three young men, all looking about twenty-one, were walking to. The first one to go down the narrow alleyway was a tall man, with light brown eyes and ash brown hair, with the sides and back cut, giving it a darker hue. He had a cocky demeanor to him, strutting down the alley in his white tanktop and black sweatpants.

The next to come down was a smaller man, shaved hair, and bright hazel eyes. He was wearing a grey sleeveless shirt and grey sweatpants. He was also wearing fingerless leather gloves, to protect his knuckles...and his pride. He had a more goofy aura emanating around him.

The last one looked kind of unsure of what he was doing. He was taller than the second man, with messy brown hair and green eyes, which looked good with his tan skin. He was wearing a white t-shirt and grey sweatpants. He looked side to side, nervous, tilting his head to the side to see the back of the first man, "Jean...are you sure this is the right way?"

The second man looked over his shoulder, "Calm down, Eren, Jean and I have done this many times. We are going the right way."

Eren sighed, "You sure, Connie?"

"Of course! Unless...you are chickening out?"

Eren's eyes widened, then turned down, "What? No! I am not chickening out of this!"

Jean looked over his shoulder, passing under the lone flickering light, which shone upon his light skin, "Good...because you are about to have an experience, bro!"

Eren rolled his eyes as he and Connie passed under the light, "Alright...this better be _some _experience."

"Oh trust me, Jaeger, it will be."

They finally reached the other side, where a stairway led downwards, another flickering light illuminating a rusty white door. Jean descended the steps, turning to look at the other two, "Come on."

Connie went down slowly, with Eren following behind. He could hear the sound of shouting and music somewhere behind the door.

Jean nodded to his two friends before turning to the door and lifting his fist. Gently rapping his knuckles against the metal, it wasn't long before the door opened a crack, the noises from within escaping to the outside world. A voice could be heard, "What's the password?"

"Go fuck your mother, dickwad." Jean said.

"Welcome back, Jean." The voice said, the door opening wide to allow them passage.

Jean smirked, "Nice to see you too, Marco."

Marco was a freckle-faced man with short parted black hair, his light brown eyes following each man as they walked in, "Ah, Connie, great to see you he-woah! Jean, who is this?" He asked, pointing at Eren.

Jean turned around, looking at Eren, "He is a friend. Eren Jaeger. I am dating his sister."

Eren narrowed his eyes, "Barely."

Marco nodded, patting Eren on the shoulder, "Alright, new guy, you first need to know the rules." He said, closing the door.

The four men were in a small room with a door on opposite sides, the other door was red, the sound of shouting and music definitely coming from there.

Marco sighed as he counted the rules on his fingers, "First rule, of course, don't talk about it."

"About what?"

"Exactly. Second, when the person says stop or taps out, stop. We do not kill, we are here to let off steam and have fun."

"Alright."

"Third, no weapons."

"Okay."

"Fourth, no running, from a fight or inside in general."

"Yeah."

"And fifth, you can have bets on the side, but only money. Nothing illegal. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good. That's about it, Eren. Welcome to the Club."

Eren smiled and nodded to Marco, who walked to the red door, knocking on it, "We got two old and one new guy!"

A voice on the other side was heard, "Fresh meat? Fun!" And with that, the sounds of multiple locks and latches were heard before the door finally swung open, and the three men were ushered in.

Eren saw this basement area supported by four pillars of concrete making a square in the center. Everyone, except for a few people, who were either resting or completely knocked out, was crowded around, chanting, "Ice Queen! Ice Queen! Ice Queen!"

Eren leaned in to Connie, "Who is Ice Queen?"

Connie gave him a smirk, patting his back and leading him into the crowd, "Oh, my friend, she is the champion. No one has taken her down yet."

"No one?"

"No...one."

They pushed through the crowd, the sound of grunts and impacts getting louder before finally they emerged on the other side. Eren's eyes widened at the sight of this "Ice Queen".

She was of small height and build, looking fragile and weak. A man who was much taller and stronger than her was running at her full speed. She got into a horse stance and, at the last second, sidestepped, putting her hands on his back and pushing him into a concrete pillar, which sent the guy straight to the floor, his forehead bleeding.

All the girl did afterwards was push back a fringe of her light blonde hair, dust off her white pullover and look out to the rest of the crowd with stunning light blue eyes. She then turned her eyes back to the man on the ground, walking over and putting a foot on his chest, "Do you give up? Huh? Do ya Reiner?" She asked, her voice sounding bored.

The man underneath her foot had a hand on his forehead and gritted his teeth, "God dammit, Annie...fine...I give up."

Annie smirked as she gave a hint of amusement, taking the foot off and turning to the other men, holding her hands up in victory.

Most of the men cheered for her, some did not. Obviously the losing bets.

A taller man stepped out and helped the muscular man to his feet, leading him out of the square to join the rest of the fallen men.

Annie watched him get dragged out before looking around, "Alright boys, one more for me. Then I must go."

Mostly everyone groaned, sad that she must leave so soon.

"I will pick who I fight next." She said, turning her head around. Her eyes scanned everyone around her, eventually setting on one person. She stuck her finger out at them.

"You, with the green eyes!"

Eren's eyes widened as her finger was pointed directly at him. He heard Connie's voice behind him, "Aw shit...good luck bruh." He said, putting his hands on Eren's back and pushing him.

Eren turned his head over his shoulder as his friend pushed him, sending him stumbling out into the square.

Eren could see her in his peripheral, like a lion ready to attack. He turned slowly to see the girl, staring at him blankly, no expression. No hate, no sympathy. Just nothing. Eren gave a horrible smile.

Annie sighed and pushed her fringe behind her ear, "What's your name?"

The brunette man's eyes lit up, "Uh...what?"

"You're fucking name."

"Oh, uh, right," He cleared his throat, "E-Eren Jaeger."

Annie nodded, staying silent, she looked like she was...observing him. Scanning him. Noting every weakness. Like a predator.

And he was the prey.

She got into the horse stance, one leg in front of the other, lifting her fists up in front of her, above her head, her elbows tucked in tight, "Come at me."

"Excuse me?"

"Fine, I'll come at you." She said, stepping in, swinging her leg at the man's head.

Eren had to think quick.

But he didn't.

Basically, the foot hit his head.

Hard.

He was sent stumbling off to the side, catching himself on a pillar, dazed. The crowd started to shout and chant for the Ice Queen. He shook his head, cursing, "Ahh...fuck...man…"

He looked over his shoulder, seeing the girl coming at him with the intention of punching him with her fist.

This time, he dived to the side, Annie's fist instead hitting the concrete pillar, sending spikes of pain up her arm. Everyone gasped. _No one_ has been able to dodge her yet, or cause her to hit a pillar. Her blood was seen on the concrete, as it broke the skin of her knuckles.

She cursed, noticing as the bastard brunette got up. She turned her head slowly to glare at him, with him staring at her bloodied knuckle, "Oh...shit, I am sorr-"

Suddenly, he felt a small leg hook around his bigger one, and a small hand push his face, sending him flying to the ground. He slammed against the ground, blinking a few times from the shock of the impact. But then the sight of bloody knuckles coming towards him was the last thing he saw before he went out like a light.

He recovered a few minutes later, his eyes opening to see Connie standing above him, asking if he was alright. Eren made a groaning noise and rubbed his eyes, "Fuuuck."

"Well...that's one response."

"Jaeger, wake up." He heard what sounded like Jean say.

Eren blinked a few more times, finally getting his full sight back. He heard a door close shut.

His eyes looked at Connie, "How...How long was I out?"

"A few minutes." Jean said, holding a hand out to Eren.

Eren took it, being pulled up, "Where's Annie?"

Connie pointed to the door, "She just left. She wanted to make sure she hadn't killed you. That was really impressive, you dodging her and all that. And you made her hurt her knuckle. Rad."

Eren looked at the red door, "Yeah, whatever, I gotta go."

"So soon?"

"Y-yeah, I will be at work tomorrow, don't worry. I gotta go." He said, running out the door, past Marco, and out the first door, leaving Jean and Connie in bewilderment.

Annie winced at the pain of her knuckles as she rechecked to make sure the bandages were tight. _That son of a bitch dodged me_, she thought to herself, pulling her hoodie up over her head. She had a small blue backpack on, which she carried with one arm.

Annie could hear the faint sound of the front door closing, knowing exactly who it was before he could even speak.

"Hey!" She heard Eren running down the alleyway towards her.

She turned her head up, cursing, before turning around to watch him run up to her.

"Uh, hey...Annie...good fight…"

"I guess...how is your head?"

"Oh...it's fine, thanks. I am sorry about your knuckles."

She held up her bandaged fist, "What, this? It's nothing, just never had someone dodge my attack, so it...it caught me by surprise. Anyway, I should-"

"Can you teach me?"

Annie's eyes widened slightly, "Excuse me?"

Eren stood there awkwardly, giving a weak smile, "Teach me...to fight, I mean."

Annie took a few steps toward him, "Why? So you can beat me?"

He shook his head, "No, no, no, not at all. I just...want to feel like I know what I am doing when I get out into the square."

The woman held up a hand, "Hold on. Let me get this straight." She said, placing her face in her palm and sighing, before lifting her head back up, "You...let your friends drag you out here, when you have literally...no...fighting experience?"

Eren stepped back, obviously offended, "Hey...hold on...I have some fighting experience...back in elementary school."

Annie rolled her eyes, "Whatever." She said, turning around and continuing walking down the alley.

Eren cocked an eyebrow and jogged after her, "Hey wait!"

Annie looked over her shoulder as she walked, "Sorry, Jaeger. I don't teach."

"You mean you don't teach, or no one has asked you to teach?"

Annie stopped in her tracks, her eyes staring at the street just outside the alley. She was silent as Eren stood behind her, curious as to what is wrong.

She sighed and turned around, her eyes glancing up at him. She pushed a fringe of her hair behind her ear and, Eren could swear it, he saw a slight smirk appear and disappear, "No one has ever asked me." She said.

The woman took a few steps toward Eren, "Do you know that...makeup store in the mall?"

Eren frowned in thought, before nodding, "Yeah, it's uh...Rose right?"

Annie nodded, "Yeah, I work there. Just go there and talk to me. We can figure out where to practice when we get to that bridge. But right now, I gotta get some sleep." She said, turning around and walking back out of the alley, "Goodnight, Jaeger."

"Goodnight...uh…"

She stopped before the exit, turning to him, "Leonhart. Annie Leonhart. See you tomorrow."

Eren watched her leave as he lifted a hand, "Alright. Goodnight, Annie Leonhart...see you...tomorrow."

And with that, she was gone from his sight.

He stood there, in the dark alleyway, thinking about this interesting girl, for a few minutes before shaking his head and looking over his shoulder at the other end of the alley. He sighed and exited the alleyway to the street, deciding to head to bed early as well.

_**The Next Morning**_

"Thanks for shopping at Rose." The short blonde girl said, dressed in an employee's outfit, waiting until the woman left to rest her chin on her fist, sighing as she looked at the entrance to the store. _Is he coming?_ She asked herself, taking out her phone to look at the time, before putting it back.

She sighed again, about ready to take her lunch break, when a tan man walked in, his eyes searching around for the girl. She raised a hand and waved. Noticing this, he smiled at her and walked over, "Hey, sorry I'm late. Traffic."

She shrugged, "It's fine. So you want to start?"

Eren cocked an eyebrow, "W-what, here?"

Annie shook her head, "No...ugh...Mina, take over for me."

Mina walked over, "Why, so you could make out with this...handsome knock out?"

"Excuse me?" Eren asked.

Annie rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, pulling him along, "No, Mina. Will be back in an hour."

The roof of the mall was devoid of anyone, so for Annie, it was the perfect to practice in. She opened the door to it, raising her forearm to block the sun as she pulled Eren along, letting go of his hand. She lowered her forearm, looking around at the roof, "Is this good?"

Eren looked around, nodding, "Yeah, this is great."

Annie nodded, getting into a stance, "Alright, first lesson, the horse stance."

"The what stance?"

She sighed, gesturing to her legs, "Horse stance, it keeps you balanced and stable. Like you are sitting on a horse. Try it."

Eren nodded and got into the stance, "How's this?"

Annie stood up and walked over. She kept silent for a moment before swiping her leg at his foot. She kicked it from under him, making him slam onto the ground.

Eren groaned as he looked up at the sky, seeing the girl standing above him, "Yeah...that is gonna need some work."

_**That Night**_

The flickering light witnessed a small blonde girl and a tall brunette boy walk under it, the girl talking to the boy.

"So, I promise I won't fight you until I know you are ready. Until then, fight the other guys. Don't worry, none of them are that smart or strong. Just use what I taught you."

Eren nodded, "Oh, alright."

Annie and Eren descended the steps, the former knocking on the door. It opened, "What's the-"

"Go fuck your mother, dickwad." Annie interrupted.

"Welcome Annie!" Marco said, opening the door, "Oh...and Eren."

Eren nodded to Marco as he and Annie walked past the threshold. Marco close the door and walked to the other door, knocking on it. It opened, and the two were let in.

Annie and Eren watched as a man was knocked out with a foot. Annie patted him on the shoulder, "Good luck, Jaeger."

Eren and some guy named Nac squared off, with Eren getting into a stance.

"Alright, this is the second fight for Eren Jaeger! Maybe he will win this one?" Reiner, the announcer, said. Everyone laughed, expecting this newbie to go down.

"Begin!"

Nac ran at Eren, shouting with rage. Eren side stepped, grabbing his arm and swinging Nac into a pillar, instantly knocking him out.

Eren just stared at the unconscious body, then turned his head up to see Annie, with a blank face, giving him thumbs up. Eren smiled as everyone else stood there, very surprised. Eren was beginning to feel better. _Bring them on._

_**One Hour Later**_

Annie grunted as she was the one supporting a bruised and slightly bleeding Eren up by putting his arm around her shoulders as they walked through the alleyway, "You did good, Jaeger...you did good."

"I did?"

"Well...good enough. Why don't we just get something to eat?"

"Food sounds good."

"Yup."

When they exited the alleyway, Annie turned them towards the pizza restaurant, pushing the door open with her body, "Come on." She said, smiling at the person behind the counter, "Hey Hitch."

"Annie...who is this?"

"Who? Oh him?" She asked, helping Eren sit down at a table, "He is just a...friend…"

"Fight club friend."

Annie quickly walked up, "Shhh...don't talk about it...but yes."

Hitch rolled her eyes, "No one else is here right now, it's fucking twelve o'clock."

"I know Hitch, but it's the first rule. Don't talk about it."

Hitch crossed her arm, cocking an eyebrow up, "This thing is really becoming a life for you, isn't it?"

"It helps me. Anyway, just one cheese pizza."

Hitch nodded, smirking, "Alright. Marlo! One cheese."

"Okay!"

Hitch looked back to her friend, "So...is he like a...friend friend?"

Annie was the one to cock an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"You know…"

Annie rolled her eyes, "He isn't-" She realized she was talking pretty loud, so she leaned in closer, whispering, "He isn't that. He is a nice guy, but I am not interested."

Hitch gave her a funny look, "Of course, Annie, of cour-ah!"

Annie in an instant had Hitch's arm stretched out across the counter, "Hitch...I am not interested."

"Okay. Okay! You're not intere-"

"Shh!"

"Alright! Just let go!"

Annie smirked and gave Hitch her arm back, "Good."

Annie brought the pizza over, placing it in the center of the table, "There you go Eren, one cheese."

Eren opened the box, nodding at it, "Cool." He said.

Annie also had a few napkins, lifting it up to the wound on his forehead that we bleeding, "Reiner really knocked you good."

Eren nodded, eating a piece of the pizza, he winced, "Ah!"

Annie scrunched her mouth up to a corner, "Hm, sorry."

Eren shook his head, "Nah, nah, it's fine."

Annie nodded, and kept on cleaning up the wound.

Eren smirked, "So...am I a friend frien-ah!"

"I am not sorry that time."

_**One Month Later**_

"Block left! Now right! Good!" Annie said, throwing punches at Eren, who blocked a good amount of them.

He blocked one last punch before she stopped, "Alright, I think that is good for one day."

Eren nodded and leaned against a nearby wall, breathing heavily as he regained his energy. He looked over at Annie, thinking of something, "Hey, uh...hey, Annie?"

The girl looked up, brushing some hair behind her ear, "Yeah?"

Eren hesitated, wondering whether or not he should ask, before asking, "Are...are you single?"

Annie smirked, "Depends...have you seen a boy walk in to Rose and kiss me?"

Eren felt heat rush to his face, "W-well...n-no...but…"

"Yeah, let's do it."

"W-what?"

"I know where this is leading Eren."

Eren looked down, "I don't know what you are-"

"Just ask me Eren." She said, walking over to him, "I am a...simple lady. I like nice guys who treat women right, have an interest in what I do, _do_ what I do, and accepts the fact that a lady can beat him up…" She got up close to him, "...And still respect himself."

Eren realized that looking down meant he was looking at her boobs, so he turned his head up, giving a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his head.

"Eren...look at me...hm? Come on," She said, giving his face a light slap, chuckling, "Look at me."

Eren, at the sound of her beautiful chuckle, turned his head down to look at her. She was smirking, "Now...ask me...like a proper gentleman? Just take a deep breath...in through the nose...out through the mouth...okay...now ask me…"

Eren took a deep breath, just as she said, closed his eyes, then opened them, "Will...you go...on...a date...with me?"

Annie laughed, "God, Eren, you are so pent up. But I am glad you finally asked...I have been waiting for half a month for you to grow some balls...but no."

Eren's eyes widened, "What? But I thought you."

"Just no." She said simply, walking away and out through the door.

Eren sighed, "Fuck my life." He muttered, walking through the door, only to be grabbed and pushed up against the wall, face to face with Annie.

"Will you go on a date with me?" She asked him, tilting her head in a cute way.

Eren stared at her, eyes wide, "W-what?"

Annie smiled, "I will take that as a yes. Walk through the park sounds good." She threw him to the ground, "See you tonight at eight o'clock. Wear something good, like a good jacket or some shit. Anyway, I gotta go find a nice outfit for tonight. See ya!"

Eren laid sprawled out on the floor, his eyes fixed on the ceiling as he processed what just happened, "Eight o'clock?"

_**Eight O'Clock**_

Eren took out his phone, looking down at it and seeing the three numbers that signify the time of night that is before nine o'clock and after seven o'clock. Which was eight o'clock, obviously.

Suddenly, a female voice called out to him, "Eren!"

He turned his head towards it to see the small woman walking toward him, this time in a white flannel jacket with a black hood, white shirt and blue jeans. Eren had the same kind of jeans and a leather jacket with a red shirt.

Eren smiled, "Hey, you made it."

Annie nodded, "Yeah, traffic...on foot traffic...is a bitch…"

Eren chuckled, "I bet."

Annie gestured to the park, "Shall we?"

Eren nodded, "We shall."

They started to walk, not saying anything for a minute or so, just trying to take in the sights. Or just trying to figure out what they can talk about.

They both tried to break the silence. At the same time.

"So what do-"

"How do you-"

Eren and Annie looked at each other and laughed, with Eren speaking next, "You go ahead."

Annie shook her head, "No you."

Eren sighed, "Ugh, fine. So...what do you like to do...except for beat up big guys?"

Annie gave a short giggle before shrugging, "I don't know. I like to draw. Paint. That stuff. What about you?"

Eren smiled slightly, "I like to write."

Annie looked at him, "Is that it?"

"Well you like to do shit with art."

"But that can be more than one thing."

"There are different genres of writing."

"But no different tools of the trade."

"This is a stupid conversation."

"You started it."

"Alright. Alright. True. What were you going to ask?"

Annie nodded, "Uh...how do you like the...thing?"

Eren looked at her, cocking an eyebrow, "Thing?"

Annie gestured with throwing her fists out in front of her.

Eren's eyes lit up in understanding, "Oh! You mean the fi-"

"Bzt!" Annie put a finger to his lips, shaking her head.

Eren remembered the first rule, "Oh, right, sorry."

She pulled her finger away, waiting for his response.

He shrugged, "I think it's fun so far. I can get my anger out and it's a nice place to make friends."

"After you beat the shit out of them?"

"Well that's how we met."

"Ahh...a romantic story."

Eren laughed, "Yeah."

A moment of silence grew between them before Eren spoke up, "So, who taught you those moves?"

Annie looked up at him, "My moves? Well...my father taught me from the age of, like, six to eighteen, pretty much."

"Wow. That long?"

"Yeah, my father wanted to make sure his little girl took no shit from douchebags and could defend herself."

"Ahh...I am not a douchebag, right?"

Annie gave a short laugh, "Of course not. You are actually very nice. Which is surprising to me considering I have fought your friends occasionally, and they are dickheads."

Eren chuckled, "That is...that is true-well, Connie is okay, but he likes to prank a lot."

"I hate pranks."

"Don't tell him that. He will prank you the most."

"Then I will beat him up the most."

"...That works…"

_**An Hour Later**_

Eventually, Eren and Annie decided to stop and call it a night. Eren suggested that he could walk her home. She said no, but maybe next time. Her last question was peculiar.

"Where do you work?"

Eren cocked an eyebrow, "What?"

"You work, don't you?"

"Work?...Oh, shit, yeah, I do that. Uh...I work at Maria's. Italian food, that kind of shit. I am a waiter."

"Ahh...interesting. Well...see you tomorrow Eren."

He waved, "See you tomorrow."

And with that, they went their separate ways.

_**The Next Day**_

_This damn spot_, the young man thought to himself, scrubbing against this one stain on the wooden table, trying to put his arm into it as he scrubbed furiously, the only thing able to get him out of this rampage of cleanliness being the voice of his boss.

"Jaeger!"

Eren shot up from his bent over position, his head turning towards his very short boss.

"Yes, Levi?"

The man's grey eyes pierced into Eren's very soul, before his head tilted to a table, "Table Twenty is waiting for you."

Eren nodded, putting the cleaning materials before walking towards the table, seeing one person, their face blocked by a menu. He approached the table, taking out his notepad, "Hello, my name is Eren Jaeger, I will be your server toda-Annie?"

The person lowered the menu to reveal that is was the small young woman, "Hi Eren Jaeger, I would like the Manicotti, and a glass of wine."

Eren gave her an 'are you serious' face before taking her menu, smiling and nodding, "Your food shall be here soon." He said, walking over to the chef's area, "One manicotti." He said, not waiting for an answer before walking back out the door, making his way towards his very recent girlfriend, "What are you doing here?"

Annie gave him a very fake hurt look, "Just having a meal before I go out fighting."

Eren sighed, "My shift is almost done. Think you could wait up for me?"

Annie did an over exaggerated sigh, jokingly, "Fine. I will be outside."

After Eren finished his shift and he was back into his regular clothing, he exited the building to see the short blonde girl off to the side.

He smiled at her, "Thanks for waiting."

She nodded, "It's nothing. You know...you looked pretty good in that waiter's outfit."

Eren shrugged as they began to walk, "Ehh...thank you? So why did you come?"

Annie looked up at him, "I was hungry, and Italian food is good to eat before you do something that works you out."

"Or you just wanted to see me in a waiter's outfit."

"That is a...maybe…"

"A maybe? Hm...will I be seeing you in Maria's during my shift more?"

"That is also a maybe."

"You are a mysterious girl sometimes, Ann."

"You like it like that, don't you?"

Eren turned his head to look at her, narrowing his eyes, "You tease…"

_**Three Months Later**_

"Hey, Annie." Eren said, looking at his girlfriend as they sat in the park together.

Annie looked back at Eren, "Yeah?"

Eren turned his head to face forward, not sure how to say this, "We have been going out for a while...and I thought that...it's just that...we...haven't had our first kiss."

Annie's eyes lit up, the rest of her face staying bored, "Kiss? First kiss? Hm...oh yeah...we haven't had that, have we?"

Eren shook his head, "Nope."

"Well...it's not like we can just force it. It needs to be special."

Eren nodded, "True. I guess when we both know it's the right time, we will do it." He said, putting his hand in hers.

She smiled slightly and blushed at the affectionate touch, "Yeah…"

_**One Week Later**_

Eren was nervous. Tonight was the night he'd face Reiner. Annie has trained him enough that he thinks he can take on the hulking brute, but you can't help but be scared looking at him.

So here Eren was, being given some encouraging words from Annie.

The bell dinged, Eren nodded to Annie before taking a deep breath and taking his steps slowly towards the square, the words of the announcer echoing through the room.

"A man who has climbed his way up the ladder, Eren Jaeger, is going to be fighting against our next to best, Reiner Braun!"

Reiner nodded to the smaller man, who nodded back. They stood a distance from each other, many fighters surrounding them, betting on one side or the other.

Then, the bell dinged again.

Reiner came charging, fist raised, trying to knock Eren out in one hit at the very beginning.

Eren dashed to the side, stopping himself on a pillar as Reiner skidded to a halt. He turned to Eren, who smirked and held his hands out, palms facing himself. He curled the fingers on his hand, "Come on, big guy."

Reiner smirked back and lunged at Eren, who dodged under his arm, sending a jab to Reiner's side. A grunt sounded from the big man. He stopped and looked at the green eyed fighter, "You've improved, Jaeger."

Eren lightly hopped from one foot to the other, fists held up, "And you've stayed the same, Braun."

Reiner took a step forward and tried to bring his fist down on the young man. Eren side stepped, grabbed his arm, and brought his knee up to hit Reiner in the stomach. This knocked the air out of the brute, which gave Eren enough time to give an uppercut straight to his face.

Reiner fell back onto the ground.

Eren got down on one knee and raised his fist, bringing it down on the man's face. Properly knocking him out.

Eren exhaled as he stood up, looking around at the half-shocked, half-cheering crowd. Sweat dripped from Eren's skin onto the stone floor, the fight kind of bringing a lot out. But he knew it wasn't over, as some people dragged Reiner out of the square, and a new person took his place.

"And now, Eren Jaeger, our next best, will be facing the one, the only, Ice Queen!"

Eren smiled at the sight of his girlfriend, who smiled back.

She whispered, "Don't go easy on me."

"I don't plan to."

They both nodded and squared off, waiting for the bell.

_Ding!_

The two stared into each other's eyes as they circled around, waiting for one to screw up.

Eren decided to just get it started.

He dashed in for a punch, bringing it under his body and out towards Annie's stomach.

She swiped her arm, pushing it out of the way before getting up close and punching Eren in the stomach. As her fist made the impact, Eren blew out whatever air he had left, feeling the pain of the punch, but not getting the air knocked out.

He stumbled back, Annie coming in for a kick. Eren quickly caught her ankle and pushed it away, coming in to punch her in the nose.

This did catch her by surprise, effectively breaking her pronounced nose. She stumbled back a bit, lifting a hand to her nose. She touched it and brought it up to her eyesight, seeing blood. She smirked at her boyfriend.

Eren smirked back, but that quickly vanished as Annie raised her foot and brought it down onto his knee. Eren grunted and stumbled, allowing Annie to come in and bring her fist flying to his face.

Eren flew to the ground, landing on his side. He looked up to see Annie jump on him, raising her fist. As it came down, Eren grabbed her wrist and used his other arm to push her neck, flipping them over so that he was on top.

Eren's emeralds stared down into Annie's sapphires, her eyes wide with surprise as Eren lifted his fist to deliver the final blow.

Annie leaned up, grabbing his face and bringing it close to pull him in to bring their lips together. Everyone fell completely dead silent, staring at the couple as they locked each other into a deep passionate kiss.

Eren was dumbstruck.

Annie pulled out of the kiss, delivering a punch to Eren's jaw, getting him off of her.

She smiled at his surprised face as she got on top and punched his lights out.

"You cheated." Eren said, holding an ice pack to his cheek as he walked down the alley with his girlfriend, who was wiping the rest of the blood from her nose.

She looked at him and smiled, "The rules never stated that a kiss was not allowed. It was totally fair."

Eren sighed, glancing over at her, he smiled back, "Well...long live the Ice Queen, then."

Annie nodded, "Long live the Queen."


	2. Day 2: Parents

**Day 2: Parents **

"That son of a _bitch!_" The brunette haired man slammed his fist on the table, anger coursing through his body as he looked back at his daughter, a beautiful teenage girl with dirty blonde hair and a mixture of blue and green in her eyes, giving a delightful sight of splendor for all boys to see.

And one of her beautiful eyes was bruised. From a punch her date gave her.

She looked concerned at her father, "Please, dad, it was nothing. An accident! He didn't mean it!"

The father placed his hand on the wall, leaning against it as he looked at her, his green eyes scanning her face for any hint of bullshit.

And he found it.

"Didn't mean it? I don't give a damn if he meant it or not! Some _prick_ has hurt my daughter!"

"Please, dad, please, don't. M-mom! Mom! What do you think?"

Off to the side, sitting at the table the father pounded, sat a small lady with light blonde hair. Her sapphire blue eyes switched from her husband to her daughter. She was silent for a minute before shaking her head, "I think your dad is right. This bastard can not go and just hit my daughter. He may think it's something he can do anytime he wants to some other poor girl."

The father held his hand out to his wife, looking at his daughter, "See? You see, Karla? Annie thinks so too. We can't just allow this asshole to get away scott free."

Karla looked at her mother, then at her father, "He didn't mean it."

The father threw his arms up, "Why do you defend this guy? He hit you, Karla!"

"Eren, calm down."

Eren looked at his wife, "But-"

Annie stood up, walking over, "Eren, we can handle this ourselves. Karla, you stay home. Ah-ah! I don't care. We are going to have a little talk with this...what's his name?"

"Toby."

"Toby. We will have a talk with him, no violence. If things get out of hand, we will use our hands and not our voices. Understand? It doesn't matter what you say, baby girl-"

"I am not your baby girl anymore! I am fifteen!"

"Which makes you all the more important to us. You are still young, you are impressionable. If you just allow this shit head to walk all over you, when you are married you will just let your husband do the fucking same!"

"Eren!"

"Wha-...hmm...sorry…"

Annie went over to the front door, grabbing the keys and her pullover jacket, "Shall we get going?"

Eren looked over, nodding before turning to his daughter, kissing her on the forehead, "Just a little talk, Karla. We are going to set him straight. But I want you to stay away from him from now on. Got it?"

Karla was looking down, staring at the floor as she contemplated her father's words.

"Got it?"

Karla looked up and nodded, "Okay, dad. Okay."

"Thank you." He said before turning around and grabbing his jacket, "Let's go."

Toby's house was empty, and clean. Devoid of any parental figure. But Toby, the boy himself, was in the living room, lined up on the couch, looking at the screen of his phone. He was texting his friends about his date, and how "The bitch wouldn't allow me to kiss her."

His friends said she was cold and frigid, and to not go out with a girl like that again. He will make sure he doesn't.

A knock at the door made him sit up, his eyebrows raised as he began to think who would possibly be here this late at night.

He got up from the couch, walking over to the door. He raised his eye up to the eyehole, seeing one man with brown hair and green eyes. He was in a green jacket, and looking at the eyehole.

Toby opened the door, his eyebrow cock, "Hello…"

The man smiled, "You are...Toby, right?"

Toby nodded, "Yeah…"

"Are your parents home?"

"No…"

"Good. You went out on a date with a very beautiful girl named Karla earlier tonight, correct?"

Toby's eyes widened, "Yeah…"

"I'm her father...Eren Jaeger."

"Oh, hi."

"You hit my daughter…because she didn't kiss you?"

"Well yeah...after a date, you'd expect a girl to kiss you, right?"

"No...my wife and I went on ten dates before we had our first kiss...because we didn't base our relationship on touch, only love. What...you thought a girl would just want to _give it _to you? Like you deserved it?"

"Kinda."

"Kinda? Hmm, that isn't the answer I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"Well, an apology. For hurting my daughter, and making me waste gas for driving here just to hear you speak ill of my girl."

"Why should I say sorry for a girl? I was expecting a kiss, and didn't get one. So I acted upon it."

Eren balled his fists, "You bastard. You...you fucking asshole."

"What? Are you going to hit me, old man?"

Eren gave him a look of pure hatred, squeezing his fists harder. But then he glanced a bit to the right, and the look slowly turned into an amused smirk, "No…" He pointed over the kid's shoulder, "She is."

Toby looked over his shoulder to see a small woman, a blank expression on her face, staring at the kid.

The kid turned around to face her, "And who are you?"

Annie cocked an eyebrow at him, "Don't you know?"

She quickly came in close, wrapping her leg around the kid's and pushing him, making him fall onto his back with a _slam_.

Annie crouched down, cracking her knuckles as she tilted her head a bit, "I am momma bear," She said, raising her fist and bringing it down onto the bastard's face, "And I have just been poked."

_**Half An Hour Later**_

Annie blew on her knuckles in the passenger seat as her husband drove home, "He had a tough face...but I have punched worse."

Eren was smiling, "Man you are _so_ hot when you pull the momma bear act."

Annie gave him a slight smile, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek, "Thanks for distracting him while I lock picked his back door."

"No problem. You sure that wasn't illegal?"

"Who is going to believe that good ol' officer Annie Jaeger lock picked into a house and beat up a teenager?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you have motive?"

Annie chuckled, "Don't go all law and order on me, Eren, leave that to the cop."

Eren nodded, "Alright. Alright...so Frieda is at her friend's sleepover, right?"

Annie nodded, "I dropped her off in the afternoon. Right before getting home."

"Man...eight years old...let's hope she doesn't have any boy problems…"

"You know that will be impossible. Unless she falls in love with a girl?"

"I wouldn't mind that."

They sat in silence for a moment. Annie looked out the window at the other homes as they drove past. She thought of something, "Hey, Eren…"

Eren glanced at her, "What?"

Annie hesitated for a moment, "Did you ever want to...you know…"

Eren kept his eyes trained on the road, waiting for his wife to finish her sentence.

"...Have another?"

Eren instantly stopped the car, screeching to a halt. He stared ahead before turning to look at his wife, who looked back, smiling at him. _His reactions always amused me._

"You mean...?"

"Eren...it's been a while. We are still quite young. We had Karla when I was twenty! After tonight, after defending my daughter by beating the shit out of that bastard...I know it may sound weird, but it just made me think of experiences like that, and how...fun they really are. So...I want to have another. The station will give me maternity leave, they did so when I was carrying Frieda. Just...do you want to have another?"

Eren raised his eyebrows as he began to drive again, "I mean, it is...it's your choice, Annie, it's your body."

Annie gave him the bored look again, "Eren, I know. And I want to, but I want to know if you want another?"

Eren hesitated before nodding, "Yes, yes I do want another. But on one condition."

Annie rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what it was, "What?"

"We have a boy."

"Eren, you know that isn't my decision. But we will see…"

"Alright, fine...I am fine with another girl…"

"So...are we doing this?"

Eren smiled, "Yeah...we are doing this."

Annie kissed him on the cheek, taking his hand and holding it, "I love you…"

Eren turned to look at her as he slowed the car down to turn into their driveway, "I love you too."


	3. Day 3: Wolf And Lioness

The forest near Maria was a beautiful sight to see. Tall trees, lush greenery, colorful flowers. It was almost all destroyed, but the people of the city stopped that from happening. To allow the animals that live inside to flourish and love, and to protect the forest from all dangers.

One of those animals was a wolf, and he was hunting.

The creature peered over a bush, his green eyes scanning the environment for his prey. His brown hair shined in the bright sun as he crept among the trees, his ears listening for any small sound that might give away his target.

Little did he know, his prey was stalking him too.

She leaned out from behind a tree, seeing her boyfriend crawling like an animal. She shook her head. Eren is such a silly silly guy. She thought to herself, smirking at his silliness. That is why I love him.

She sneaked out from behind the tree, getting on all fours as she carefully stealthed her way to another tree, keeping on her toes, ready to spring. Her movements were like a feline. Like a lion.

Or a lioness.

Her small body allowed her to stay light as she came up close to her boyfriend. He was unaware, his taller stronger body almost ready for anything. He thought he was hunting his girlfriend. But she was hunting him.

She got ready to pounce.

A twig snapped. Eren spun around to see the lioness. So beautiful, the creature was. She was even beautiful as she landed on top of him, tackling him to the ground.

Instead of the snarling and growling of regular animals, the playful sounds of laughter and delight echoed throughout the trees as the two 'animals' kissed and tickled each other, the girl laughing the most as Eren knew exactly where her best tickle spots were. Her stomach, under her arms, and specifically the sides of her ribs.

But eventually he stopped tickling, his hands reaching up to cup her pale cheeks, pulling her down into a passionately kiss.

She pulled back looking down at the tan boy with her bright blue eyes, "I got you, Jaeger."

Eren smiled, "You did, yet again, Leonhardt."

The couple do this as a fun game when they get bored and want to do something. They started doing it on their sixth date when they began to run out of dating ideas. They were not the type to go to the movies, or got to dinner, so this was a great substitute.

Eren reached up and pulled her down again to kiss her, savoring the taste of the woman he loved, before letting go so that she could sit up.

She sighed and got up, holding a hand out to help him up.

He grabbed it, and the small girl pulled him up to his feet, with his help, of course, "Thanks Annie."

Annie nodded, "No problem." She said, kissing him again.

The two stood there in silence, allowing the sounds of birds chirping, the leaves rustling, the wind blowing. They just let it all come in and congregate around them, enjoying the sounds of nature.

Eren turned his head to look at his girlfriend.

"Wanna do another round?"

"Shit yeah."

Eren and Annie smiled at each other, both of them leaning in to kiss before they sped off in opposite directions, taking the role of Wolf and Lioness yet again.


	4. Day 4: Ice & Fire

A/N: Don't kill me for getting things wrong. It's been a while since I saw Avatar: The Last Airbender and I have only seen one season of Legend of Korra, and that was a while ago too.

The rustling of the leaves were all that bothered the boy. He was having it up to here with it. He just wished he could burn them all. _But no, I have to control my anger like a good boy_.

He wished he wasn't the Avatar. It would have meant that he wouldn't need to go on this stupid adventure. And he wouldn't have had to meditate so damn much. He wouldn't have had to meditate at all.

"Eren."

The brunette teen's eyes snapped open to reveal his green eyes, which were looking up at his friend, Mikasa, an earthbender, standing up in front of him. She was dressed in a light green button up shirt with dark green full length baggy pants, her brown leather shoes poking out. A brown leather pack was strapped to her back, and a scarlet scarf Eren gave to her as a gift was wrapped around her neck. Her grey eyes looked down at him, waiting for a response.

Eren's eyes lit up as he realized she was talking to him, "Uh...yeah?"

"Tell Armin to get himself awake and ready. We are almost there."

"Why don't you tell him? I was meditating."

"Eren...you and I both know you are focusing on burning all of the annoying leaves, not on going to the Spirit World."

Eren frowned, "Hey I-" He stopped, knowing she was right.

He reached for the nearest rock, grabbing it, and turning to look over his shoulder at his friend, Armin. An airbender, dressed in yellow shirt-like robes and orange shawl. So, naturally, he was snoring really loud. Eren learned to get over it and just ignore the sound when he meditated.

He raised his arm and threw the rock at the blonde. The rock flew through the air before hitting the boy's head, making him grunt and sit straight up mid-snort, his blue eyes looking around for the source of the thrown rock. The blue arrow tattooed on his head poked out from his short hair, as it was growing back in.

Eren fist pumped and raised his hand in the air for a high five from Mikasa, who just stared at it and shook her head.

Eren sighed as he got up onto his feet, stomping one foot onto the ground for a block of rock to push his pack nearby into the air. He held his hand up and turned it, using the air to twist the pack so that it flew right to him, one of the straps being caught by the boy.

He put the pack on, adjusting it so that it does not droop on his back. He looked down at himself, wearing a red shirt with tassels at the neck, dark grey knee-length baggy pants, and black leather boots. Most people think the Avatar should wear the noble clothing of his or her nation.

Eren was not into that.

In fact, when they tried giving it to him, he burned it.

Though he kept the boots.

Eren smiled, turning around to see Armin getting up, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Come on Armin, we are almost there. I can't _wait_ to learn waterbending." Eren said with a huge hint of sarcasm.

Mikasa turned to him, "Eren, don't diss waterbending. It's a beautiful form."

"Well I am learning it from a hermit. Probably some old guy who won't remember a thing."

"It is a man. Yes he is old. But he is a master."

"So they say."

"Alright guys, I am ready." Armin said, smiling at the two.

Eren turned to him, nodding and smiling as he turned to the path and began to follow it, "Then let's not waste time. Let's meet this loner."

Eren could feel them getting closer to it, his boots crunching the grass beneath them.

_Welp, almost at the end of the road. Wonder what will happen once I learn all four elements. _

He remembered learning earth and airbending pretty easily. He had gone to the Western Air Temple on foot, as they thought an on-foot journey would be the best for him "spiritually". There, the Air Nomads trained him for a year. He met Armin there too. They instantly got along, which helped Eren with his training.

Then they had went on their journey to Ba Sing Se, where he picked Mikasa to train him out of a group of trainees. She was of the Upper Ring, but liked the clothing of commoners. That was another year of learning.

And then there was this person, the waterbender, the one who is an apparent "master" who trained for decades before deciding to settle in the forest.

The forest they were in now, where he will learn waterbending for a year before going back.

Finally, after a maze of trees and greenery, Eren's foot stepped out into a clearing, where a large beautiful lake sat, surrounded by these tall trees.

And off to the east end of the lake, sat a cabin with a deck that stretched over the water, being supported by pillars.

But they also saw another cabin next to it, but this was was on the ground completely.

"What is the other one for?" Armin asked.

"Maybe for us?" Mikasa answered.

Eren shrugged, "Maybe."

Eren stood in front of the cabin for a moment, looking up at it, wondering who could be inside.

"Well, Eren? Are you going to knock?" Mikasa asked, cocking an eyebrow at her friend.

Eren blinked, his thought process falling apart as he looked over his shoulder at the earthbender, "What?"

She gestured to the wooden door, "Go on."

Eren looked at the door, "Oh...right…"

He went up the few steps up to the door, standing in front of it. He took a deep breath and raised his fist, knocking it on the door.

A few moments later, a clicking noise signaled the unlocking of the door before it cracked open slowly. What Eren expected was not at all in front of him.

In front of him stood a young teenage girl, at least seven inches smaller than the Avatar. Her hair was light blonde, with a messy bun and hair loops that framed her face. Her skin was pale, making her blue eyes stand out more. She was wearing a blue kimono-like tunic that had a hood, white lining the edges, with split sides, probably to allow better leg movement. She was also wearing fur trimmed leggings underneath, with brown leather boots completing it.

Eren was confused, "Uhm...hi…"

The girl cocked an eyebrow, bringing her hand up to brush her fringe out of her face, "Why are you here?"

Eren's eyes lit up, "Oh, uh...me? Well...I am the Avatar."

The girl seemed unimpressed, staring at him with a bored expression.

"And I came here to learn waterbending from a man named…" He looked over his shoulder, "What was his name?"

Mikasa glanced up, "Leonhardt."

Eren turned back to the girl, "Leonhardt."

The girl's eyes widened slightly. She looked around Eren at his two friends. The blonde one waved. She looked back at Eren, "A man?"

Eren nodded, "Yes. We were told he came here after learning waterbending for decades to live alone."

The girl glanced to the side, "Hold on." She said, closing the door.

She came back a moment later, opening the door and looking at them before opening the door wider, "Come in. I have tea. I have something to explain."

The interior of the cabin was decent, with one main room and two separate rooms. The main room had chairs and a table in the center. There was a counter off to the side, and a few dead animals hanging from racks above it.

On the table in the center was a kettle and single cup. The girl led them to the seats, telling them to sit as she went to get more cups.

The three sat down, looking at each other curiously as the young woman brought the cups over, "Now, what I am about to tell you will be disappointing, but it has a silver lining." She said while pouring the tea into the cups and passing them out.

She picked up her cup and sat down, crossing one leg over the other. Her eyes darted from one person to the next.

She took a sip of her tea, sighed and began to speak, "The man you are looking for is dead."

Everyone's eyes widened as they put their cups down and stared at her, "What?!" Eren exclaimed.

The girl sighed, "He died a year ago from natural causes."

"How does that have a silver lining?" Mikasa asked.

The girl put her cup down and looked at Eren, pointing to herself, "I am the silver lining."

Eren leaned forward in his chair, "You? What does that mean?"

The girl looked off to the side before turning her head back to the three in front of her, "My name is Annie Leonhardt. I am his daughter."

If their eyes could get any bigger, they would be as the three looked surprised, "I thought he lived here alone. Like a hermit." Armin said.

Annie shook her head, "Far from it. He came here after those decades of training with my mother, who was pregnant with me at the time. He built this place, and eventually I was born here, in that bedroom," She pointed to one of the separated rooms, "Unfortunately, she passed away shortly after. My father then decided he would train me until he dies. I know everything he knows, and I practice everyday."

Eren pointed at her, "You look nothing like a waterbender."

Annie looked down at herself, holding her hands up in front of her face, "Ahh, right. My father was from the Southern Water Tribe, but decided to move up when he was young the Northern Water Tribe, meeting my mother along the way in Republic City. She was a firebender. I borrowed my mother's looks, and my father's abilities. This clothing used to be my mother's when she was my age. My father made it for her."

The three fell silent, all of them sitting back and thinking.

Annie stood up, "Look, my father taught me the styles from the Northern, Southern and the Swamp tribes. I have mastered all forms. So take my help or leave."

Eren hesitated before standing up, "Wait...wait…" He sighed, looking around the room. His eyes settled on the small girl, "We will take it. I didn't come all this way to just walk back, so...we'll see. My native element is fire, so I am guessing this will be much harder?" He asked.

Annie glanced up in thought, "Hmm...yeah, much harder. Well...let's get you settled, my dad made a cabin for guests. I guess he knew the Avatar was going to come." She said, gesturing for them to follow.

The other cabin was almost like the original one, it just didn't have a back door that went out to a deck. Also it was all one room and empty, save for the counter and a fireplace. There were also some blankets in a corner.

The door opened, and Annie walked in, moving to the side to allow her three new guests to walk in.

"I don't see any beds." Eren said, looking around.

"I know, you sleep on the ground...what? Did you expect my father to build beds for people he _thought _would come?"

"But he built a whole cabin?"

"...Shutup, Avatar. By the way, you haven't told your names."

The airbender looked around the room, putting his pack down, "My name is Armin Arlert. Airbender."

The earthbender glanced over her shoulder at the girl, "Mikasa Ackerman. Earthbender."

Eren turned around to face her, holding his hand out, "I am Eren Jaeger. Avatar."

Annie glanced down at the hand. Her eyes lifted back up to Eren before she turned around and left, saying, "Your first lesson is tomorrow." And closing the door.

Eren cocked an eyebrow before looking at his two friends, "Well...we're here..."

_**The Next Day, Day One of Waterbending Training**_

Annie stood on the deck, looking down at her reflection in the water. She crouched down to get a closer look as she got her hair loops into place. Her father taught her how to do this, saying it is something the women waterbenders do.

"_And it makes you look more beautiful. Like your mother."_ He would say.

Annie turned her head to look at her face, running a finger down it, outlining her pronounced nose, something she hated about her face.

"_I look ugly." _She would say next to her dad as he helped her get ready for the day.

"_Don't say that, Annie, you got that from your mother. It made her look unique. You're unique." _Then he would give her a kiss on the cheek, which would cheer her up.

_But now that he is gone, nothing can really cheer me up. _She thought to herself, outlining her nose again and sighing.

A lone tear fell from her eyes, and dropped into the water below.

The young lady stood up, looking down at herself to check her clothing. She noticed something out of the corner of her eye, turning her head to see a figure move out of the way of the window.

Annie knew exactly who it was. She rolled her eyes before turning and walking back into the house.

She looked up at the racks to see a fish she got yesterday, placing it on the counter. She grabbed a knife off of the rack and placed it on the neck of the fish, more specifically the pectoral fin. Cutting deep, she cut it off and pushed it off to the side. Then she slid the fish to the left to bring the knife down on the tail, severing that as well.

Annie then stabbed the knife into the fish's underside, cutting along the length of the fish to cut it in half. She let go of the knife and pushed her fringe out of her face before grabbing it again.

She turned both side upward so that she could trim off the belly of the fish, tossing those to the side so that she could grab the tail end of one of the side and run her knife underneath, cutting the skin off of the side. She did the same with the other side.

She took the pieces outside, where she had a U shaped rock pattern set up, with a grill set up on the rocks. Underneath the grill was an empty space, and next to it, a frying pan with a long handle sat on the ground. She placed the fillet on the pan and stood up, walking over to the house to get some chopped up logs from a basket.

She pulled the grill up and placed the logs underneath, nudging them into place with her boot before laying the grill down carefully.

She patted her body, her eyebrows turning down as she couldn't find her flint and steel, "Damn. Time to go back insi-"

The grill suddenly burst into flames, the fire licking up into the air. This caused Annie to jump back a bit, looking around for the source.

It was him.

Eren stood there, in a stance, a fist outstretched. He smiled to himself, getting out of the stance. He waved to the girl, "Good morning."

Annie took a deep breath, nodding to him, "Good morning...Eren, right?" She asked. He nodded, so she walked over to the frying pan, picking it up by the handle and placing it on the fire, letting the fish cook.

She sat down in front of the blaze. She watched the flames lick up into the air as Eren sat down next to her.

He turned his head to look at her, his eyes looking her up and down, "So...what were you doing out on the deck?"

Annie glanced at him, "So that was you in the window?"

Eren knew he couldn't lie, especially with a girl this scary, he nodded, "Yes...I-I wasn't stalking, or anything, I was just curious as to what you were doing."

Annie nodded slightly before looking at the fire, "Well...it's none of your business."

Eren nodded, "True, but...you have a nice nose."

Annie turned her head to look at him, cocking an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

Eren sighed, "Uhm...it looked like you were...like...uhm...self aware of your nose, like you thought it looked bad on you or something. And...I think it looks nice. It suits you."

Annie blinked before looking back at the fire, "Thanks…" She muttered.

They sat in silence after that, both of them not knowing what to say.

Annie reached over and grabbed the handle pulling it off of the fire. She held it in front of Eren, "Here."

Eren's eyes lit up as he looked at the fillet, "What?"

Annie gestured to the fillet, "Take one, it's your breakfast before we begin. But be careful, it's hot."

Eren looked at her before nodding and grabbing one, the heat burning his skin but he didn't want to drop it and make it dirty. He looked over at Annie, who got her piece off and bit into it.

Eren looked at his before taking a bite, pulling it off and swallowing it down.

The lake was calm, no disturbances in it just yet. Annie led Eren out to a clear part of the land, away from the cabins.

She stopped, turning around to face her new student, "Okay...waterbending. It is an element of change. We learned to bend by observing how the moon pushed and pulled the tides. It is fluid...and graceful. It is taking your defenses and turning them into offenses, turning the forces of your opponent against them. Our moves flow, like the water itself."

She gestured for him to watch. Facing the water, she got into a stance and held her arms out, one lifted higher than the other.

She flicked her wrist up, making the calm water pull up. She took a long noodle of water out and moved her hands like a river, flowing. She turned, the water coiling around her.

She then quickly turned and shot her hand out, the water flying right into Eren's face, soaking him.

Eren had his neck leaning back and his eyes closed as he spat out some water, "Well...that was refreshing."

Annie nodded, "Now...try making the water move."

Eren looked at Annie, sighing before turning to look at the water. He saw his reflection, staring back up at him, waiting for him to bend the water.

He took a deep breath, getting in the stance he saw Annie get in. Everything was silent. Annie's eyes switched between the water and Eren.

Eren exhaled, raising his hands, before shooting them out at the water.

Nothing happened.

Eren frowned, "Uh...am I suppose to be doing something?"

Annie nodded, "Focus on the water, focus on it moving. Moving it back and forth, it won't happen fast, but you will be able to get it."

Eren nodded, and took another deep breath.

_This will be a while._

_**Day Fifty-Three Of Waterbending Training**_

Annie looked at her reflection in the ice mirror she created on the wall, putting her hair in a bun, like her father taught her to.

Her father who...might be disappointed in her.

She thinks herself a horrible teacher. She tried being gentle, like her father did with her, and she still tries, but she thinks that force is the only way to do this.

_I will start today, force is good. He is a teenager, like me. He can take it. _

She connected her hair loops before taking a deep breath and nodding to herself, "Alright, let's do this."

She walked over to the front door, placing her hand on the knob and turning it. She pulled the door open, the sun poking through the branches blinding her. She raised her forearm to block her eyes, letting them adjust so that she could see two people sitting around the fire.

Armin and Mikasa.

And they were eating fish.

She cocked an eyebrow, _I did not get any fish._

Armin looked up to see her. He waved, "Hey, Annie!"

Annie gave a slight wave back, descending the steps of her house, "Where did you guys get the fish?"

Mikasa gestured to her own left, which was Annie's right, "Eren."

Annie's eyes widened as she was about to question her answer, when the boy himself came.

With a bag of fish thrown over his shoulder.

Annie stared at him in amazement. He smiled back.

Annie walked over to him as he put the bag down, "H-h-how?"

Eren looked at her as he took a fish out, smiling, "I uh...I got a fish out of water...by waterbending."

Annie narrowed her eyes, "How...did you...how could you go from moving water to picking fish out of it? You couldn't even move water yet."

Eren glanced down, "I kinda learned to move water after day twenty-two. I kept it hidden from you so that I could surprise you with this."

Annie's eyes were wide as she stared at Eren, who smiled back.

Suddenly, she hooked a leg around his leg and pushed him in the face, tripping him and sending him down, smashing into the ground. The fish in his hand smacked the floor harmlessly.

Mikasa shot up, "Eren!"

Eren held a hand up, staring into the face of Annie, "Calm down, Mikasa, I am fi-"

Annie punched him on the chest, "You son of a...you made me feel like I was a horrible teacher!"

Eren grunted at her punch, "Ahh...no, no, I am sorry. I didn't...I didn't mean for you to feel that way. You are a great teacher, and I just wanted to surprise you. I am sorry."

Annie paused as she readied her fist again, her eyes staring into his. They held it for a moment, before Annie took a deep breath and lowered her fist onto Eren's chest slowly, bumping it.

She stood back up and held a hand out to help him up. He took it and helped her pull him up. He stood up, rubbing his chest, "Good hit."

Annie patted him on the shoulder, "You did good, Jaeger. Just...next time...tell me your progress. I have never taught someone before, and...I am...I am doubting myself."

Eren smiled and placed his hands on Annie's shoulders, "You are a fantastic teacher. My teachers back in the Fire Nation would be forceful, and…" He leaned in close, "Mikasa was kind of forceful," He leaned out, "But you are patient and gentle and...thank you…"

Annie could feel heat rushing to her cheeks. She turned her head down, her hair blocking her face, "I gotta...go inside, I forgot something."

Eren nodded, "Go ahead. Tonight, we feast on fish."

Annie nodded before turning around and heading into her house at a quick pace.

Eren cocked an eyebrow at her, "Does she seem...strange?"

Mikasa shrugged, "She is always strange."

Annie closed the door, instantly leaning against the wall as she slid down it, allowing her cheeks to turn bright red. She smiled faintly, an emotion she doesn't like to let out. _Mostly because I never got to show my emotion to anyone but my dad and his rare friend that comes by._

She felt a shiver go up her spine as she thought of Eren's kind words. _Dad...he said it. I am a great teacher. _

She felt her heart flutter, the butterflies in her stomach, and the tingling that her father told her about when he saw her mother.

_Wait, that means that…_

Annie's head shot straight up, her cheeks only getting redder as she covered her face, even though no one was around.

"No...no...I can't be attracted to the Avatar. I can't…"

She thought about it, her mind running a mile a second. She sighed.

"Can I…?"

_**Day One-Hundred-and-Fifteen Of Waterbending Training**_

"There, you got it! Now...freeze it!"

Eren held the water in front of him, then twisted his hand.

The water fell from his hands, back into the water. Eren sighed and made a noise of disapproval.

Annie shook her head, "Don't down yourself. It will only make it worse. You can do it."

Eren looked at Annie, nodding slowly as he got back into his stance. Taking a deep breath, he moved his hands, the water coming up.

He inhaled, then balled his fists.

The sound of cracking was heard as the water began to freeze up, traveling up until the whole noodle of water was ice.

"Now back into water."

Eren relaxed his fist, letting the ice melt into water, which was taken back by the lake.

Annie smirked, "Good work, Jaeger. You are progressing nicely."

Eren smiled, "Thanks. It's all because of you."

Annie nodded, "Yeah, thanks. But you still have a pretty long way to go. But, now you should be able to pick up on it faster. Work on your ice, try to do things with it. Make weapons, defense, mobility, anything. But also keep on practicing with your water."

Eren nodded, bowing to her, "Of course. Thank you Annie."

Annie cocked an eyebrow, "What's with the bowing?"

Eren shrugged, "You're my teacher. I forgot to do it when I met you, and I guess I only remembered today."

Annie shook her head, "Don't do that. I want us to be equals." She said, walking up close to him, putting two fingers on her chest, "Just a waterbending master…" She got close to him, to the point she could feel his very warm breath. She placed her two fingers on his chest, "And the Avatar."

Eren stood there, looking down at her small figure, giving a faint smile, "Yeah."

Annie nodded, giving a faint smile back before she released an amused breath from her lips and pushed him with her fingers, "Now...practice some more."

_**Day Two-Hundred-and-Sixty-Seven of Waterbending Training**_

Eren shot up from his sleeping position, breathing heavily and sweating profusely.

He realized he wasn't in a dream and sighed in relief, resting his face in his hands as he relaxed himself, looking out the window at Annie's deck. He remembered the second day of him being here, seeing her on that deck, checking herself. He thought she looked pretty, nose and all.

_She still looks pretty. _He thought to himself.

He stood up, getting his regular clothes on. He crept by his sleeping friends, carefully opening and closing the door.

He turned around, seeing the cabin and the campfire site in front of him. His eyes darted to the forest.

_That will be a good place to relax, _he thought to himself, starting on his adventure into the forest. He never got to explore it on the account that he was training and practicing. But now he was able to enjoy it under this beautiful starry sky.

As he progressed deeper into the forest, passing all of these probably century-old trees, he saw something glowing in the distance. From afar he can't really figure out what it was.

He began to run towards this curious place, not caring what is was or who was in it. He jumped over bushes and ducked under low hanging branches.

As he got closer, he realized that it was a cave. A glowing cave. He slowed himself down to a jog, which eventually turned into a walk. Reaching the cave, he stopped in front of it.

He hesitated, unsure about this, before walking in slowly.

His eyes widened as his eyes spotted crystals all around him, glowing beautifully like the moon.

He reached out and touched one, retracting his hand.

"That is really cold." He said, seeing his breath visible in front of him.

He slowly walked past the crystals, his shoes crunching the dirt beneath. Eventually, he reached an open area.

It was like a huge frozen lake, with large crystals out from it in certain areas like pillars.

Eren stepped onto the icy floor, the sound of the footsteps echoing throughout the room. He glanced at the crystals as he passed them. Turning his eyes forward, they widened, spotting a familiar figure.

A kneeling figure was identified by her blue hood over her head. Eren took a step forward, "Annie?"

The figure looked over her shoulder at Eren, seeming frightened at first, but relaxed as she realized who it was. He could hear a ragged breath escape from her, "Oh...hey Eren. Please...kneel next to me."

Eren cocked an eyebrow as he walked over slowly, not realizing what she was kneeling in front of until he was close enough to look over her shoulder. His eyes widened.

In front of her, the wall was smooth stone, and had two engravings, one was more neatly written than the other.

The first one read, in standard writing:

_**Here Lies **_

_**Annette Leonhardt**_

_**Loving Wife and Mother**_

_**Beautiful Firebender**_

_**Your Husband And Daughter Will Miss You**_

Eren's eyes were wide as they switched to look at the other one, this one was a little more poorly written:

**Otto Leonhardt Lies Here**

**Loved Father**

**Best Waterbender**

**I miss you everyday**

**I hope to be with you soon**

Eren turned his head to look down at the hooded girl, seeing her shake and shudder. He kneeled down next to her, looking down at his hands. That's when he noticed something in the ice beneath them.

Two rectangular wooden boxes were in the frozen water below them, under each engraving. He realized who they were.

Annie put her hands on the ground, her body convulsing as she cried, the tears falling down onto the ice. Eren looked at the girl. Not knowing what to do, he decided to do what he thought was right.

He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in close.

And she allowed him.

In fact, she wrapped her arms around his warm body, crying into his shirt. All of her pent up sadness from the last time she came here falling out now onto him. And he accepted it, wanting her to feel warm in this cold cave.

Eventually, she fell silent. Eren didn't want to disturb her, but he slowly reached over and pulled back her hood. The beautiful sight he saw was something that seemed so rare to see.

In his arms, the small blonde girl was asleep, her eyes red and puffy from the crying. She looked so precious, so...fragile, it was hard to believe that this girl could possibly be tough.

_I should probably get her in bed, _he thought to himself, steadying himself as he held her bridal style and stood up.

He looked at the two coffins beneath him. Then his head turned up to the two engravings, nodding to them, before turning around and heading out with the girl in his arms.

The trek through the forest wasn't a long one. Eren looked down at the girl, imagining her as a child, being carried around by her father when she fell asleep.

"Now look at you. Grown up and living on your own." He muttered, smiling at her as he walked into the large clearing.

Eren ascended the steps to her front door. He twisted his wrist, using airbending to unlock the door and have it swing wide open.

He stepped in, twisting his wrist again to close the door. He began walking toward one of the bedrooms, opening the door to see it had a bed meant for two in it.

Eren stood there, staring at it, before shaking his head and turning around, walking to the other bedroom. Opening that door, he walked in to see a bed meant for one.

He made his way to it, stopping next to it so that he could lay the beautiful girl down in the bed.

Now here was the issue. He didn't want to leave her alone. He looked back at the bedroom door, thinking.

_**The Next Day, Two-Hundred-And-Sixty-Eight of Waterbending Training**_

Eren opened his eyes slowly to see the sky, a colorful mixture of red and orange, as the sun was rising over the horizon. He blinked his eyes as he realized that he was laying on the deck of Annie's house. He decided last night that he would not stay in the room, but he would stay close, just in case.

He wondered if Annie was awake, when the sudden voice came from nowhere.

"Hey."

Eren jumped, "Ahh!" He rolled to the side, when he realized his legs were hanging off the edge of the deck. He rolled right off the deck, and into the water below, splashing as his body hit the cold lake water, his arms scrambling to push himself back up to the surface.

His head poked out of the lake, looking up to see Annie bending over the edge, laughing at him. A beautiful sound to his ears, but still. Eren frowned and shot some water at her. She blocked her face with her arms, laughing as she began to make the water move, pushing Eren back and forth.

"Hey, stop!"

Annie laughed as she threw her arms up, pulling Eren out of the water and back onto the deck. He fell to his knees, the feeling of being pushed out of water into the air very strange.

He got up slowly and looked at Annie, who was trying to hold back her laugh. She then walked into the house, "Let me get a towel."

Eren dried his hair, smiling at Annie as she leaned against the wall. Her laughter had died down, leaving her with a smile.

After Eren finished drying his hair, he looked up to see Annie's smile gone, replaced with her mouth open, as if she was about to say something.

"Thank you. For last night."

Eren shook his head, "It was nothing. I don't know what it's like to lose family, but...I'm sorry for your loss."

Annie nodded, "...Thanks...thank you...no one ever came to pay their condolences. My father passed away, and...I had to bury him...it was horrible. The writing is horrible."

"You're alone."

"Well, not right now. I have you guys. Just…" She looked like she was going to say something really important, but she closed her mouth, "Thank you...you can leave...I will be out soon."

Eren kept his eyes on her, hesitating, before putting the towel down, standing up, and walking out of the room.

Before he closed the door, he looked over his shoulder at her, to see her standing in the same spot, looking down at her feet.

Like a sad lonely girl.

_**Day Three-Hundred-and-Thirty-Four Of Waterbending Training**_

"Alright, Eren. Remember when I made you do the bubble and go to the center of the lake?"

"Yeah."

"Now I want you to do it, but this time for two people. I will be accompanying you."

"Y...you trust me?"

"Of course. We have been doing this stuff for almost a year."

Eren looked uneasy. _What if I screw up?_ He asked himself.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked to see the arm connected to Annie, who was giving him an encouraging look, "I trust you. Now let's do this."

Eren glanced at her before nodding and turning to the water.

Taking a deep breath, he began to wave his arms around slowly, walking towards the water. Annie was right as his heels.

As he approached the water, it began to push away, forming a circle around him. Eventually, that turned into a sphere, keeping any water from touching them.

They began their journey to the center of lake in silence, but slowly they sparked a conversation.

"You have progressed significantly, Eren. I am impressed."

"Thanks."

"Thank you. You learned pretty fast, and I am glad that you appreciate my skills as a teacher. I...I just wanted to say thanks."

"I should be saying thanks. You taught me."

"I am suppose to do it. You are the Avatar."

"I don't see how that title should force you to do something. Sure, I am the Avatar, but I can find another waterbender."

Annie looked down, feeling slightly bad.

"But they would not be as smart, kind, or talented as you."

Annie lifted her head, looking up at Eren, who was looking back.

Slowly, a smile appeared on her lips, and she turned her head down, trying to hide her blush.

"I like it when you blush."

Annie snapped her head up, "How?"

"I can totally feel the heat in your cheeks."

Annie looked down again.

Eren laughed.

"Annie, you should show this side of yourself more. I like it."

She looked back up, showing her smirk.

"It make you looks pretty. Well...either way...you are pretty."

She stopped, with him stopping with her. He looked at her to see her give an appreciative look.

Then she lunged at him, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him.

This made Eren stop waving his arms around, the water enveloping them, and lifting them up to the surface.

Eventually, their two wet heads broke through the screen of water, with Annie still holding Eren. Eren held his hands out to have the water push them to land.

Eren crawled back onto land with Annie, her arms still wrapped around his neck.

She picked her head up, her hair wet. Eren smiled and pushed a fringe out of her face, laughing a bit before nodding to her.

She smirked, "You did good."

_**Day Three-Hundred-And-Sixty-Four of Waterbending Training**_

Eren laughed as he tossed a rock into the water, skipping it across the lake until it drowned half way, "How can you throw it better?"

Annie smiled as she flicked her wrist, the rock skipping across the lake like Eren's, but it ended up on the other side.

Eren scratched his head, "Seriously...what the hell?"

Annie shrugged, "It's all in the wrist."

Eren looked up at the moon, "All...in the wrist." He got into a stance. Then he flicked his wrist, the rock skipping onto the ground and into the water.

Eren frowned, "I probably should've thrown, then flick, right?"

"Yeah."

"Damn."

"Don't worry, you'll...you'll get it."

Eren turned his head to look at her, "Is something wrong?"

Annie sighed, but then gave a short laugh, "No it's just...it's just...you won't be staying here. Tomorrow you have to leave."

Eren looked ahead, his eyes wide, "Has...has it already been a year?"

"Yeah…"

Eren fell back to a sitting position, staring out at the reflective water, "Well...why don't you come with us? To Republic City?"

Annie shook her head, sitting down next to him, "No...I can't just leave this place. I was born here. I grew up and lived here. My parents died here and it is where I want to die."

"That's a morbid thought."

"Eren…"

"Sorry…"

Annie sighed, "Eren...that night you found me in the cavern. You saw what I wrote, right?"

Eren nodded, "Yeah, it was beautiful."

"The last part?"

Eren frowned at her, trying to remember.

His eyes widened.

"'I hope to be with you...soon...'"

Annie nodded.

Eren blinked, "You...tried to kill yourself?"

Annie looked down at her hands, "That day you arrived...was another attempt…"

"What...made you stop?"

"What makes me stop every time I try...life…"

"What do you…"

"My father told me to live life after he is gone. To try and find people to love. To bring people here and start a town. I tried...I tried...but no one comes here...only you three…"

Eren stared at her wide eyed, "Well, you can still do that. I can help."

Annie shook her head, "I don't want your help...you have helped me enough…"

"What?...You have helped me more than I helped you."

"No...I didn't…"

Eren didn't know what to say. They sat there in silence before she got up and walked away, "Goodnight Eren."

Eren looked at her, "What? Annie…"

"Goodnight…"

Eren stood up. He was about to take one step when he stop. He hesitated before shaking his head. He let her walk away.

When she was out of his visible sight, he kicked one of the stones really hard, making it skip once before diving into the deep, dark water.

He balled his fists, looking down, "This...is when I hate...being the Avatar…"

_**The Next Morning, Day Three-Hundred-and-Sixty-Five, End of Waterbending Year**_

"Got everything you need Eren?" Mikasa asked, lifting her pack and putting it on. She took out a small mirror and checked herself, running fingers through her short black hair.

Eren sighed and shrugged, putting his pack on, "I guess." He said in an almost depressed tone.

Armin bent over to look at Eren, "Is something wrong?"

Eren glanced at Armin, "Huh? Oh...yeah...I-I mean no, I-I'm fine."

Mikasa put her mirror away, looking at Armin, then at Eren, "Then shall we get going?"

Annie stood in front of her home. Her bun was a little more messy and her hair loops were hanging from her bangs, not connected to her bun. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy, and her clothes looked dirty. They were the same clothes she wore yesterday.

As Eren and his friends exited their house, she turned to them and gave them a faint smile, "It was nice to have you guys as company. It's sad you have to leave."

Mikasa walked up, nodding, "Yes, it is. It was nice meeting you, Annie."

They shook hands. Mikasa stepped out of the way so that Armin could walk up.

"Thanks for giving us a home. And helping Eren."

"It was a pleasure."

They shook hands. Armin stepped out of the way to let Eren walked up.

They stayed silent. Eren looked at her, up and down, looking for any hint that she would want to come with them.

He couldn't find it.

Eren gazed into her eyes, his emeralds locking with her sapphires. They exchanged much information through that alone.

"I will miss you." He said.

"Me too."

"Thank you for teaching me."

"Thank you for learning."

Eren gave her a small smile before leaning in to hug her. She was surprised by the affection, but accepted it, wrapping her arms around him.

Eren whispered into her ear, "Don't hurt yourself."

Annie sighed, "I'll try." She whispered back, her voice cracking.

They let go and pulled back from each other, smiling at each other.

Eren turned to his friends, nodding, "Let's go." He said, losing his smile.

Mikasa nodded, gesturing for her friends to follow.

As the trio made their way to the direction they came, Eren stopped and looked over his shoulder, seeing Annie was not there. _She probably went back inside._

"Eren?" Mikasa asked.

He looked at her, "Huh?"

"You coming? We have to get back to Republic City in a week."

Eren glanced down, sighing, "I...I...tell them to come to me."

Mikasa cocked an eyebrow, "What?"

Eren turned around and began sprinting back to the cabin, "Tell them to come to me!"

Mikasa and Armin looked at each other before turning back to Eren, "Eren! Eren!" They shouted.

Eren skidded to the halt before rushing up the stairs to Annie's door. He quickly knocked on it, over and over again.

The door opened and Annie poked her head out, sniffling and rubbing her red, puffy eyes, "E-Eren?"

Eren looked down at her, he cupped her cheeks and, after staring into her beautiful blue eyes, pulled her into a long, passionate kiss.

Annie's eyes were wide with surprise, as everything was so sudden. But soon after, she accepted it, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him in closer, to push his lips harder against her's.

Mikasa and Armin ran over, both of them stopping in their tracks as they witnessed the scene before them.

Eventually, Eren pulled back, looking down at the girl in his arms, "Annie...I am staying…"

Annie's eyebrows raised, "But...you have to go back to Republic City…"

Eren smiled, shaking his head, "No...if they need me, they come to me. What can they do? I _am _the Avatar." He said, looking over his shoulder at his friends, "Tell them that I am staying here. If they need me, they can make the trip."

Mikasa and Armin look at each other before nodding, "Alright, Eren. We may come back after telling them." Mikasa said.

Eren smiled and nodded to them, "See you."

The two smiled before they began their journey back to Republic City.

Eren turned his head back to Annie, "I didn't want to leave you alone."

Annie smiled and nodded, leaning up to kiss him again, "Well...we should probably practice."

Eren nodded, "Ladies, first."

Annie rolled her eyes before turning around and running to the deck. Eren followed her, seeing her dive into the lake.

Eren smirked before getting a running start, jumping off the deck and into the cold water.

Annie swam over, cupping his cheeks, "Thank you."

Eren kissed her, resting his forehead against hers, "My pleasure."


	5. Day 5: Empathy & Decision

Looking out a window is such a pleasant thing to do. One gets to see the whole world through it, right from their home. It's a huge source of inspiration for all sorts of art. From painting to writing, it is a great medium of putting fantasy onto the page.

From this particular window, the teenager could see his best friend's house next door. He could see children playing in the streets. He could see cars drive by, probably going to their job.

And he is staying inside, not wanting to show his face to the sunlight. He felt ashamed. For being a dick a few days ago. For hurting his girlfriend emotionally. For not apologizing. He felt like the worst boyfriend in the world.

He turned around to look at his phone, reaching over and pressing the button to see if he got any messages. He gave her some time before deciding to message her yesterday and today.

None.

He sighed, his green eyes glancing back at the window before switching to the phone again.

He shook his head and looked back out the window, resting his chin on the window frame, his mind running with thoughts. The two hemispheres fought with each other, arguing one decision over the other.

One side won.

He turned back to the phone, picking it up and pressing the button, then sliding his thumb across the screen, opening it. He went to **Messages**, then to **Annie Leonhardt**, looking at his past texts:

**Yesterday**

_**Annie?**_

_**Annie?**_

_**Annie?**_

_**Goodnight, Annie. I love you.**_

**Today**

_**Annie? Are you awake?**_

_**Annie, I'm sorry.**_

_**Seriously, Ann, I'm very sorry.**_

_**I didn't know, Annie, I didn't know. **_

_**How could I have known?**_

_**Annie, please…**_

He looked at the texts, thinking of what to send next. He looked at a nearby wall before his eyes lit up, and he looked down to type:

_**Annie, please talk to me. **_

_**Please. I didn't know. **_

_**I couldn't have known. I am sorry.**_

_**So, so sorry. I love you.**_

His thumb hovered over the send button, already hesitating. _She hates me. She won't answer it. But I might as well try.'_

He pressed the send button.

_**Delivered**_

He stared at the word as his message has arrived at Annie's phone. _Now I just wait._

The boy went to looking back out the window, his eyes watching some kids play 'make believe'. He and his friends used to do that when he was young.

His train of thought of broken as the sound of his phone vibrating twice reached his ears. His head snapped to his phone, his hand quickly snatching it up. He pressed the button, the message illuminating in front of his eyes.

_**Where do you want to meet? **_

The teen's eyes read the message over and over again, thinking of where they should meet. He sighed and typed in:

_**Rose Park. Where we had our first kiss.**_

He sent it, then waited. A minute after, the phone vibrated once in his hand. He looked down.

_**Alright. Meet you there.**_

The young man nodded to no one, pocketing his phone and getting his flannel jacket before running out of his room. He sped past his sister and through the front door, running to his car.

The boy pulled out his phone and looked at it, seeing that is has been about ten minutes since he got here. He pocketed it, looking up to scan the park for his girlfriend. _Or ex-girlfriend_, he thought to himself, the corners of his lips turning down. _I fucked up._

Then, his eyes spotted something. A person wearing a white pullover and blue jeans. The hood was up, hiding their face from everyone. But the boy could see her light blonde fringe hang out from the hood.

She walked directly to the bench, her piercing blue eyes were seen through the shade of the hood. She nodded to him, he nodded back as she sat down next to him.

"Hi Annie…"

She reached up to pull her hood down, the boy seeing her pale skin. Her eyes were red and puffy, "Hey, Eren…"

Eren side glanced at her, cocking an eyebrow. He hesitated, the silence between them growing.

"I am sorry for-"

"I know."

Eren turned his head to look at her, "Annie…"

"I haven't forgiven you yet. You were so rude that night in general."

"I know...I was in a rush, the movie was about to start and...I just...I'm sorry."

"Did you go watch the movie?"

"No...I couldn't...I would've felt more like shit...and...you wouldn't have been there to laugh at the cheap special effects with me."

He could hear a small chuckle emanating from the small girl, "Hm...if only…"

"Annie...I know how you feel right now...when my mother died, remember? I hated anyone who spoke to me. I yelled at you, and I shouldn't have."

Annie turned her head to look at him, "Your mother was a good woman."

"And so was yours. My mother, when you and I first met, made so many jokes on 'getting the wedding plans ready'."

Annie smiled faintly, "Mine used to ask me about you a lot. 'Is he cute?' 'Is he kind?' That kind of stuff."

Eren smiled, "Your mother was awesome. And I am sorry that I disrespected her. If I can do anything to have you forgive me, I will."

Annie gave him a playful look before shaking her head, "Nah, it's fine, Eren. I do forgive you, but on one condition?"

"What?"

"Movie week. You buy tickets to movies and we watch one everyday for a whole week."

Eren's eyes widened, "Ann, I do-...fine...anything for you…"

Annie smiled and leaned over to hug him, "One more thing…"

"What?"

"Just hold me…I haven't been comforted by anyone, and I really need to let it out."

Eren smiled and wrapped his arms around her small frame, pulling her close, "Alright...alright...go ahead."

The girl nuzzled his neck before she began to shake and cry, her sounds muffled by his skin. People walking by paid no mind, as Eren hid his girlfriend away from the world.

"I love you, Annie. I do…"


	6. Day 6: Passion & Love

The bell. A sign of order. It rings when it's morning, so get up. When it's night, so go to sleep. When to go to church, when someone has died, and any other special events.

Including an execution.

The bell does toll for death. And a death there shall be. The death of a woman.

A young woman.

Everyone gathered around the gallows in the cobblestone-floored town square, talking of the execution, excited to see someone _finally_ hang. It's been a while. A year, at least. And now, this woman kills a "charitable" noble, and she gets to hang. Joy and elation!

The bell rang, signaling it was time to begin. Everyone fell silent. It rang repeatedly, again and again and again and again.

Meanwhile, a small pale woman was led up the stairs of the gallows, her piercing blue eyes looking ahead of her. A thousand yard stare.

She had light blonde hair tied up in a messy bun, her fringe hanging in front of her right eye.

Her hands were tied behind her back. She was wearing a white tunic with a hood on it, which was queer of folk to wear.

They stopped her right in front of the hanging noose. Her eyes followed it up and down, the piece of rope seemingly threatening her very existence. She frowned at it.

Not too long after, a priest had arrived and has already begun speaking to her, about God or some bullshit. Another man was talking to the people, "Welcome! Friends and family! 'Tis a special day today, it is! Recently, Nobleman Rod Reiss has been killed! And we have the culprit!"

He looked down in a book, flipping a few pages. He turned his head up, "Her name is Annie Leonhardt! She is the work of evil, murdering this innocent man!"

Annie's eyes lit up at the last couple of words, she pushed the priest out of the way with her shoulder, "Innocent?! He raped the poor women of my district, and they can't tell a word of it! Some of them have given birth to his spawn! He is a demon, if I ever laid eyes on one!"

The guards pulled her back to the noose, the man in front looking at her. He held the book out to the girl, "See?! We cannot allow such vile words to be spoken of our dearest nobleman. And she shall be punished for it, rightly so!"

He turned to the guards, nodding before glancing at the girl, giving a look of disgust.

Annie smirked and spat at him, being pulled back again. The noose slowly was wrapped around her neck, tightened so that it was not loose across her light skin.

Annie looked at the people, staring at them, "What I did...what I did was justice! Because of me, you can all sleep in your homes, safe! Your wives, safe. Your daughters, safe! No longer shall that disgusting pig come to your homes, demanding that he deflower your little girls! No longer! You are all-"

"That is enough! You have had your last words, Miss Leonhardt, and now! It is time for you to meet God, if he has the stomach to face a whore like you!"

Annie smiled, "I will gladly meet him...if he existed!"

"Such a heretic you are, a good lot that will do you once you are up there."

Annie nodded, "I will see you up there soon."

She looked out at the crowd, one particular person catching her interest. A cloaked man, standing in the group up front. His green eyes stared at her, winking.

Her eyes widened as she realized who it was. The man smirked, and held a finger up to his lips.

This certain young man knew this girl for quite some time. And now, he was getting her out. It all required careful planning.

_**One Week Ago**_

The short man sat at the table, his feet resting on it. His grey eyes stared into the boy's, searching for any source of doubt.

He didn't find any.

"Boy, for all the time I have known you, you have not spoken a word of this girl. Yet here you are now, flapping your lips about her like she is Virgin-God damn-Mary!"

The young man looked down at his hands in front of his 'guardian', "She isn't a virgin, Levi…"

Levi's eyebrows raised, "Have you…?"

The boy nodded, "Yes, I have. We meet each other from time to time. The first time we met, she saved my life from muggers. Second time was just in the market. By the tenth time we met, we told each other of our interest in one another, and we kissed. And we eventually met each other on a daily basis. Then recently, one night..."

"You took her virginity?"

"We were both consenting adults, Levi."

"You are teenag-You know what, it is not my business, Eren. But, you think your parents would approve?"

Eren sighed, walking over to the window, he leaned next to it, looking outside, "I don't know what my parents would do. They are both dead, after all. All I know is that Annie Leonhardt means something to me, as much as I mean to her. We both have a passion for each other. Like it was meant to be. I just want to make it right with her."

Levi patted his frills down before standing up, nodding to the kid, "Mhm. I suspect we will need your friend Armin and your sister Mikasa for this. They are both genius' in their crafts. For town square, we will need distractions and a way to cut the rope. I plan we should cut it right as she is hanging, so that she can fall through the square, where you will get her. We will plan the rest of this once we have everyone, understood?"

Eren nodded, "Yes, sir. Thank you sir."

_**One Week Later**_

Annie's lips twitched up in a smile, looking at her lover, before a black cloth was placed over her head.

Her mind was now running with thoughts, some of what was about to happen, some of the man she loved, and some of what the hell he was going to do to get her out of this.

She began to breathe heavily. Annie never liked to admit it, but she was scared. Scared of dying, of never being able to see her love again, to hold and caress him. Tears fell down her cheeks as she waited for the inevitable fall.

The swift pull of a lever, the sound of the floor dropping beneath her, and the tightening of the noose rattling around in her brain. She couldn't breathe, she kicked wildly, the sounds of her struggle causing Eren to frown. _These bastards...Mikasa...Armin...please do it…_

As if on cue, several gray pouches landed on the wooden platform. Before anyone could investigate them, they exploded, shooting mists of gray smoke everywhere. People began to panic.

Then, the sound of a bolt flying through the air was short, as it cut the noose, sending the young woman dropping through the square, hitting the cold stone below, she fell to her knees, grunting as now she can finally breathe.

She felt a hand grab her arm and yank her out from under the platform.

"Sorry, my love." The familiar voice spoke to her, the _shink_ of a knife being unsheathed. Not too long after, she felt the circulation run back to her wrists as her arms were freed. The black bag over her head was grabbed and thrown to the side, Annie's eyes adjusting to the bright light as a cloak was placed around her shoulders, the hood pulled up over her head.

"Come on!" Eren shouted, grabbing her wrist and pulling her out of the smoke cloud. Then Eren let go of her, "Follow me!" He shouted, sprinting down the cobblestone road.

_**Five Days Ago**_

"Thank you guys...for doing this, I mean." Eren said, sitting on the crate in Levi's room where Levi, Mikasa, and Armin were now situated.

Mikasa and Armin nodded to him, the former speaking, "This girl must be really important to you."

Eren nodded, "Yeah...yeah…"

Levi supported himself on the table, "She also killed a noble that, from my sources, was a rapist. She is a hero, practically."

Mikasa cocked an eyebrow, "Why is she being punished?"

Eren pushed himself off the crate, speaking with venom in his saliva, "Obvious reasons. She is a peasant, he is a noble. No evidence or witnesses because people are scared of coming forward. That type of bullshit."

Mikasa's eyebrows raised, causing her to pull her red scarf up to her nose, keeping silent.

Eren sighed before looking at Armin, "I need you to throw smoke bombs onto the platform." He then turned to Mikasa, "And I need you to shoot the rope with your crossbow."

Armin nodded, "When should we do that? Like what kind of signal?'

Eren glanced between his friends before turning his head down, "Three seconds after she starts hanging."

Armin's eyes widened, "What if her neck snaps?"

Eren looked up, shaking his head, "It won't. She is way too light. Trust me, I know."

Armin nodded, "Okay."

Eren turned to Levi, "And you, I need you to get some of your friends to help us escape to the countryside."

Levi blinked, "You're leaving?"

"We need to. Her face can never be seen around here again. Besides...we both planned on living outside the walls, hunting and living on what we kill. We will make our own house and everything."

Levi narrowed his eyes, "Okay. Well, I can get some of my friends to help you with the house too."

Eren shook his head, "Wouldn't be as special. But can you have them stash some supplies, materials, tools, some weapons and bedrolls outside of the walls?"

"Of course."

"Thank you. Thank you all."

_**Five Days Later**_

Eren rounded the corner, seeing a cloaked man in the alley they ran into, who nodded to the couple, turning to a door and opening it. He gestured for the two to run in, before closing the door behind himself.

Eren and Annie turned to the tall man, who pushed his hood back to reveal that he was a friend.

"Mike." Eren said, holding his hand out for the man to shake, "Nice to know you were hired."

Mike nodded, looking at Annie, "Is this the girl?"

Eren smiled, "Yes."

"She is very pretty."

Annie smirked, "Thanks, so how do we leave this place?"

Mike held up two fingers, curling them, gesturing for the couple to follow. He walked over to the next room, his boots thumping against the wooden plank floor. He stopped at the corner, and got down on one knee, pulling his knife out.

He stabbed the blade down between the cracks and jerked the handle back, pushing the wooden planks up. He did this with several other nearby planks to reveal a hole, just enough for one person to get through at a time.

Eren gestured for Annie to go first. Annie smiled and kissed him on the cheek before hopping down. Once she was out of the way, Eren hopped down as well.

He looked up and gestured for Mike to cover up the floor again. Mike nodded, getting to the task.

Eren and his love looked ahead, seeing a boyish looking woman walking towards them. Eren smiled, "Nanaba."

She smiled, "Greetings, Eren, is this Annie?"

Annie nodded, "Yes, it is."

"You are a lucky woman. Eren is always a kind boy." She said playfully, reaching over to pinch Eren's cheek.

Eren gently pushed her hand down, "Please, Nanaba, not now."

Nanaba smirked and turned around, gesturing for them to follow, "Fine, Eren, fine. Follow me, we are just near the wall. We will take this tunnel, then be up on the other side."

She walked off. Annie looked at Eren, smiling at him before putting her blank face back on. She followed after Nanaba, with Eren following close behind.

"Do you use this to smuggle people out?" Annie asked, passing the small alcoves that contained candles to light the way.

Nanaba glanced over her shoulder, "Yes...exiles, people about to be executed who shouldn't...those types."

Annie nodded, "Where are you taking us?"

"Out of the city, beyond the walls." Eren said.

Annie's eyes widened, "Wait...so that means…"

"That dream we had...of getting out of here...we will be living that…"

Annie took in a sharp breath, "Oh…"

Eren cocked an eyebrow, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I just...didn't think we would ever get out here…"

Eventually, cracks of light shot through a wooden hatch in the ceiling up ahead, where a ladder was reaching up to it.

Nanaba stopped next to the ladder, "The things you requested are just behind you when you exit this hatch. 'Tis the end for me here. Good luck to you both. We will send people to check up on you from time to time. If that's alright?"

Annie walked up to the ladder before looking at Eren, "I would be fine with it."

Eren nodded, "Yes, that's fine."

Nanaba smiled, "Okay, see you two some time."

The outside world was a beautiful place, the wall was surrounded by many tall trees, giving shelter for any animals. Many people are allowed past the walls, but not until they are of age.

A piece of the grassy ground pushed upward, revealing a secret hatch. A head poked out, a small light blonde head. It looked around before the rest of the body climbed out of it, the small young girl feeling the grass beneath her hands before standing up.

Her beautiful blue eyes looked around at the lush greenery surrounding them. Flower patches colored the green canvas of land. The corners of her lips tugged upwards in a smile. She ran to the flowers, getting down on her knees in front of them.

Eren climbed up onto the surface. Standing up, he nodded down to Nanaba before closing the hatch, making it look like regular grass again. He saw the bags right in front of him, four bags. Eren smiled to himself, walking over to two of them and picking them up, throwing them over his shoulders. He turned to see Annie in front of the flowers.

"Annie."

The girl lifted her head from the flowers, looking towards Eren, her eyes spotted the bags, "Oh, right. Of course, sorry." She said, standing up and running over to grab the other two bags, "Just got distracted."

Eren smiled, "It's fine. Let's just get as far as we can into the forest and find a good place to stop.

Annie nodded, "Alright. Let's get going, then."

_**That Night**_

As the blanket of night smothers the day, the two decide to stop and camp in a small clearing. Eren found an axe in one of the bags, so he gathered enough big branches to make a fire. The fire they were sitting around right now.

Eren stared into the flames, smiling as he helped save his loved one, the one who was resting against his shoulder, her eyes closed.

Eren found many things in the bags. Food, water pouches, a bow and arrow, the axe, two knives, a flint and steel and a few other useful items.

His eyes looked around at the trees. _These could make great materials for a house. _He thought to himself, looking back down at Annie, _Our house._

He felt the beautiful creature leaning on him move. Turning his head down, he saw his love was waking up, "Hey...something wrong?"

Annie blinked a few times before her eyes shot up to meet his, "Yeah...I am fine...just bad dreams…"

Eren cocked an eyebrow, "Want to tell me?"

Annie sat up, looking at the fire, "No...actually...I should…Eren...I need to tell you something…"

Eren looked concerned, "Okay...what?"

Annie sighed, "When I first learned about Rod and his...doings...it was from a person who I trust to give me information. The only way I could get him was when he was out looking for prey...so I decided…Eren, please don't hate me, I love you very much…"

"Annie…"

"I...I...I made myself bait for him…"

Eren's eyes widened, his green irises growing, "What…"

Annie closed her eyes, looking down, "Please, Eren...that is why I wanted you to deflower me, so that he wouldn't if he did. I love you, I do. I would never betray on you. Never. I just needed to get close to him."

Eren looked at the grass, thinking, "Did he…?" He looked up at her, the girl knowing what he meant.

Annie inhaled deeply, her eyes beginning to look at the floor as she remembered what happened that night, "I tracked him there. I knew exactly where he was and kept an eye on him. He was following me. I went down an alley. I turned around, and pretended to be frightened as he grabbed me and...and…and he pulled my clothes off, but by the time he could even expose me..I pulled my knife out and stabbed him through the throat...the fuck...his face was so satisfying as he fell to the ground." She looked back up at him, her face pleading, "Please Eren, I only did it to kill the bastard. I am alright. I am."

Eren stayed silent, thinking.

Annie looked up at him, "Please Eren, forgive me. I didn't want to do it that way, but it was the only available option."

Eren looked down at her, he smiled and leaned down to kiss her, "You have been through too much to ask for forgiveness. Just be silent, my love. We will start to build our home tomorrow. We should get rest. I love you. And you know that. Nothing will make me leave you."

He kissed the top of her head, then laid down on the cool grass. Annie crawled on top of him to rest her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, "Goodnight, Eren."

Eren looked up at the stars, his eyes shining bright with the future ahead of them, "Goodnight Annie."


	7. Day 7: Unconditional Love

A/N: This has nothing to do with that plane crashing in the Alps. I made this weeks beforehand.

"Eren...ah...Eren just go-"

"No."

"Eren...urg...please, I don't want you to-"

"Annie. _No_."

"Eren...Eren I am just a bur-"

"You are _not _a burden, Annie! Now stop moving...alright, this will sting." He said, placing a alcohol soaked rag on her arm, earning a whimper from her as he staunch the wound. A few other pieces of white cloth and a bottle of alcohol standing by. Being a medical intern, he knows what he is doing.

Annie's beautiful blue eyes looked up into Eren's green ones as he finished cleaning her last wound, "Eren...my leg is broken...I am bleeding...all you got was a big cut on your head and a few large bruises...I will just slow you down...how do you think Mikasa would feel if you were to die-"

"How would Mikasa feel? Annie, how would I feel if I were to just leave you? How would I-" He stopped and sighed, reaching over to grab her left hand and lift it up into her vision. On her ring finger, a gold band reflected her face, showing her distress, "I gave you this...because I wanted to be with you forever...I know we haven't walked down the aisle, I know I haven't vowed to be with you until death do us part just yet...but I am not leaving you."

Annie stared at him, her eyes beginning to water as she looked down, "What if I don't make it?"

Eren cupped her cheeks, causing her shining eyes to look at him. Eren leaned in to kiss her, his lips connecting with hers for a good half minute before he pulled back, smiling at her, "Hey, we are going to be married. You'll make it. We just need to wait for this snowstorm to blow over so that we can find help."

Eren looked over his shoulder at the exit of the cave they found, no light shining through as the wall of snow would block any light that came forth anyway.

Eren looked back at Annie, caressing her cheek, "Ann, we will move tomorrow towards where I believe Chamonix is. But you will feel a lot of pain. I need to go back and get some painkillers."

Annie's eyes widened, her hands shooting out to grab his arm, "Eren-"

He looked at her, placing a hand on hers, "Don't worry. I know where to find them."

Annie lip trembled, pulling herself onto his arm, resting her head on it, "Please...be careful…"

Eren nodded and gently pushed her back to the cave wall, "I will be. I always am."

Annie cocked an eyebrow, "Really? Like when you fell from the ladder while repainting our new house?"

Eren smirked, standing up, putting his black beanie on, and zipping his green ski jacket closed, "Hey, I didn't break anything. I was bruised." He grabbed his backpack, putting it on.

Annie rolled her eyes, "Lucky you. Go on. Again be careful. And be quick." She said, pulling her jacket close to herself.

Eren nodded before turning to the exit, "Keep warm." He pulled up his jacket collar and running out into the snow, feeling the biting cold instantly. He knew what we was looking for was just over the hill. He quickly trudged his way up it, wading through the snow, his hair being blown around by the tough winds. As he reached the top, his green eyes reflected the shine of the fire emanating from the wreckage.

Eren descended the hill, approaching a wing separated from it's body, stabbed into the snow. He stepped past it, his eyes searching the three-quarters buried small airplane, which was more than it was a half hour ago, as it was only halfway buried when they crashed.

That means the door they got out of the plane through was shut closed by snow.

That left the door by the tail, which was still closed. Luckily, he could reach it enough to open it. As he walked over, he spat on his hands, rubbing them together before he climbed up on the part of the plane nearest to the ground. His belly to the cold metal, he crawled up the top of the plane until he knew he was above the door.

He took a deep breath, turning his body so that he could reached down with his foot. After a bit of tapping around, he felt his foot connect with the door handle, but then lost it. He cursed, connecting with the handle not long after. Carefully he pushed down, unlocking the plane door. Then he used his other foot to push the door squeaking open, kicking it so that it opened all the way and stayed so.

Eren sighed in relief, "Alright...now to get in."

He slowly inched himself down, steadying one of his feet on the door, using his hand associated with that leg to grab the top of the door. He then slipped the rest of his body off of the side of the plane, bumping the door and making it move a bit, squeaking slightly. He stood still, trying to wait until it stopped.

His breathing was shaky. If sweat was available to him in this weather, it would be running down his forehead.

He gulped, breathing slowly as he reached out with his left foot, eventually touching the inside of the plane.

Nodding, he took one sharp breath before diving inside, slamming into one of the chairs, grunting as the door closed in front of him. He groaned, reaching up to feel the back of his head, "Shit…" He muttered, rubbing it slightly before looking down the aisle, his eyes spotting horrible things.

Dead frozen people, sitting down at their chairs, looking terrified or just emotionless. He remembered they were taking a trip to France to find a place for their wedding. The date was coming closer and they needed to pick an area. The memories of what happened next came clear.

* * *

Eren's green eyes looked out the window at the sun rising, bright and fresh. He smiled, looking over to see a sleeping Annie next to him.

Usually, she was a very tough girl, but these moments of weakness are something he can always spot. She looked so beautiful right now.

She hated it when he complimented her, but he kept on doing it. And eventually she just blushed and ignored him, smiling to herself every time..

He reached over and pushed her light blonde fringe out of her face. She moved slightly, her eyes kept closed and her lips parted a bit.

They were two of at least ten people on this small flight. He liked it this way. It was more silent.

He looked out the window again, resting his chin on his fist. He looked down at the snowy mountains of Chamonix.

Suddenly, the plane shook violently, causing Annie to wake up slowly, groaning, "Fuck, man…"

Eren smiled, "Probably just some turbule-"

The plane shook more, causing the passengers to know something is wrong.

Annie looked out the window, "What's going on?"

Eren shrugged, unbuckling himself and getting up to walk into the aisle. The stewardess walked over, "Sir, please sit down, we are just having some small troubl-"

An explosion sounded, the plane shaking, throwing Eren down to the ground, "What the hell!?"

Suddenly, they felt their center of gravity drop as the plane began to turn down. Eren was sent to the ground, his hands grabbing at the chairs. He looked up to see Annie holding her hand out, "Eren! Hold on!"

Eren reached out with one of his hands, but another rumble caused him to let go.

"Eren!"

He grabbed another chair, using his strength to pull himself up into it. He struggled to buckle himself in, the clinking of the metal being snuffed out by the rushing air.

Before he could buckle himself in, a huge crash was heard before everything went black.

* * *

The only noise that he woke to was the sound of someone crying. He was woozy, and dazed, breathing heavily to bring his mind to stability. His ears eventually focused on the crying. And it sounded like…

"Annie?" He muttered before moving slightly, causing huge pain to spike up his neck and head. He grunted and lifted a hand up to his head, bringing his fingers in front of him to see blood, "Shit…"

He ignored the pain, pushing himself forward to land in the aisle, groaning as he looked up and down the long lines of chairs. Looking to the right, he could see several arms hanging limp. He looked to the left, seeing the stewardess, dead, lying down on the door to the cockpit. Blood was pooling, and growing as time went by.

He heard the cry again, his head turning towards the source, "Who's there?" He called out, holding his head.

He heard the crying stop, "Eren?"

His eyes widened, "Annie?" He crawled up to where they were sitting before the crash, seeing his fiance sitting on the floor, propped up against the chair. Her blue eyes stared into his, the corners of her lips turning up in a smile, "Oh god," She muttered, tears falling out of her eyes as she dived for him, wrapping her arms around him, "Eren…ahhh." She winced, pulling away from him and holding her leg, gasping in pain.

Eren's eyebrows raised, his eyes looking down at her leg, "Is your leg broken?"

Annie glanced up at him, nodding, "I think it is."

Eren nodded, "Alright...well...we gotta get out of here and to somewhere sheltered, but not about to be buried in snow. Then we can treat our wounds."

Annie nodded, reaching up to him, "Carry me, I can't walk."

Eren smiled, "Of course."

* * *

He tried to ignore all of the limp arms, shaking his head as he carefully descended down to the cockpit, where his goal was. He slowed his descent, softly hitting the cockpit door. He hit something soft. Looking down, he saw the stewardess, staring up at him with a shocked face, her blood frozen over. He stared back. The wind picked up outside, roaring against his ears.

"I am sorry this happened to you." He said, crouching down to shut her eyes. He spotted the medkit right next to her. Sighing, he bent down to pick it up. Pulling off his backpack, he zipped it open before placing the medkit inside, and zipped it back up.

He took a deep breath, seeing the warm air expel from his mouth. He almost forgot how cold it was as the storm raged on outside. Like ghosts howling and pounding against the metal walls that encased this graveyard.

His eyes snapped up, looking at the aisle, setting his sights on the door off to the side, "My exit."

As he climbed up the chairs, he stood up, steadying himself on the seating devices, reaching up to open the overhead compartments above where he and Annie sat. He took out their small suitcase, as they were only checking the place out. He took a steady breath before stepping down and climbing up to the exit.

He pushed the door open before jumping out. He landed on the cold soft snow floor, stumbling a bit and dropping the suitcase. He sighed and picked it up before running towards the direction of the cave, the sun kissing the horizon.

Annie shivered, frozen to a large degree, but not to the bone. She was used to the cold, but not when it bit into her skin like this one did. _When is Eren getting back? _She asked, wanting her fiance close to her so that she could warm up next to him.

Her ears picked up the sound of feet on snow through the roaring of the wind. It got closer, and soon enough, the figure of her love was walking down toward her, "Hey Annie, sorry I took long."

Annie smirked, "You didn't take that long."

"It's night."

"Almost night."

"Whatever. I got our suitcase. So that means," He began, putting the suitcase down and opening it, he pulled a blanket out, "More warmth for us."

Annie smiled shifting uncomfortably, "Ahh...fuck...thanks Eren. So we go tomorrow?"

Eren nodded, sitting down next to her, he spread the blanket over their bodies. Along with the connection of their bodies, they could actually feel each other warm up. It was a beautiful feeling. Of love.

Annie leaned over to rest her head on Eren's chest, closing her eyes. Eren brushed his fingers through her hair, being able to pull them out easily.

Eventually, Eren let the dark veil of sleep get pulled over his eyes.

His eyes slowly opened to the feeling of a small hand patting against his chest, "Eren, the snow has calmed down a bit. I...I think that we should get going."

Eren blinked the rest of the sleep out of his eyes, "What? Oh...yeah, you're right...let me get everything set up, okay? You take some painkillers."

Annie nodded, looking worried, "Yeah...yeah, okay."

Eren got everything in the pack, then he had to do something really hard. Get Annie up. She took some painkillers, but there will still be some of the pain there.

"Ow, ow!" Annie said, her small frame being picked up by her fiance, her leg moving a lot.

"Sorry."

"It's fine, Eren, it must be done. Just be careful. I trust you."

Eren glanced up into her blue eyes. He nodded and hoisted her up, getting a pained grunt as he put her on his back, allowing her arms to wrap around his neck to keep herself up. Kind of like a piggy back ride.

"You used to do this to me all the time."

Eren chuckled, "And you loved it."

"I did...I did…"

He walked out of the cave with her in tow, looking around, "Ready?"

Annie nodded, "Ready."

Eren began, thankfully not being pushed around as the snow storm died down. He had his arms hooked under her legs, hearing whimpers or winces from behind his right ear.

He knew if he kept walking, he had to reach someone. His thoughts were interrupted by Annie speaking into his ear.

"Remember...when we first met?"

Eren found this question strange at this time, "Of course...how can I forget? We went to the same school together, and I saw you before we met. I always stared, thinking you were the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on. Even prettier...than Krista."

"I still think you are lying."

"I am not. She is pretty, sure. She is beautiful and kind, yes. But she seemed so fake to me. And too weak. But you...when I accidently bumped into your tray during lunch, you gave me the scariest look. The death glare. And, while I did feel terrified, I also thought you were perfect. A tough, gorgeous woman."

"And what did you do right after you knocked into me?"

"I said I would make it up to you by taking you out bowling."

"And what did I say?"

"It was something...ahh," He almost tripped over a rock, but recovered, "It was 'Fuck off, dickhead' and then you took my tray and walked off with it."

"I hated the chicken tenders you got. They were horrible."

"But then, you came up to me after school when I was going to my car, and you said you were sorry for the way you acted, and then, very quietly, you accepted my invitation to bowling. And we had a good time."

"It was a great time for me."

"I am glad. You laughed, and I never heard your laugh before. It was...angelic."

"Stop it."  
"No-"

"Stop it, Eren."

"It's true. I love your laugh, it keeps me happy."

Eren could hear her chuckle. It was a "blush chuckle", that's what he called it.

"Ah...there it is."

"Stop it, Eren. Oh my god...my cheeks will keep me warm if you do this."

"And I couldn't believe you opened up to me that soon, it was like you trusted me."

"I did...somehow...Eren you did the impossible. I haven't laughed in front of anyone that fast. For Mina, it took her three months to get a giggle out of me."

"Ahh, Mina...she was a wild one."

"I love her, why do you think she is the maid of honor?"

"True. But after that date, you said you liked it, and that we should go on another one. I remained taciturn until you left, then I jumped for joy."

Annie giggled, "Ahh...I love you…"

"I love you too, baby…"

Annie kept silent for the next hour, letting the cold wind blow through their ears.

She spoke up again, "Remember our first kiss?"

Eren glanced to the side, surprised of her speaking up all of the sudden. He smiled, "Yeah...yeah...it was awkward for me but...I loved it."

"Yeah...it was...in your car...after we saw that drive-in theater movie."

"Yeah, that theater was a rare find. I am glad we went to it."

"You were good for your first time...and mine…"

Eren chuckled, coughing a bit.

Annie's eyes widened, "Eren? You okay?"

Eren nodded, "Yeah, of course. Saliva went down the wrong tube. Sorry."

Annie sighed in relief, "Okay good."

Eren looked down with concern, knowing that is not at all what happened. He might be getting a small cold. He will be fine. _I will be fine._

Another hour later, Eren was looking weak. His movements were slow, and his eyes were slowly closing before snapping back open.

"Eren...remember when you proposed?" He heard his fiance ask in a weak voice.

Eren's head snapped up, his eyes opening fully, "Oh...yeah…I took you to that bowling alley."

"And…"

"I know you hold the ball with your middle and ring finger and your thumb. You also bowl with your left hand."

"It's lucky."

"Of course. So we bought a lane, and I got you your ball. And then what happened?"

"I put my fingers in the ball, then I threw it...only to find a ring on my finger."

"Then I got down on one knee and took your hand, asking you to marry me...I thought it was pretty romantic."

"I loved it...I did…"

Eren glanced to his side at her, "So...what's with the walk down memory lane?"

Annie groaned, "It's...I just want us to remember our best times...in case I die."

Eren shook his head, "You...you are not dying."

"Eren, I am weak, and cold, and…and...I just won't make it."

"Shutup, Annie, I am the same. But we are almost there."

"Eren…" She moaned.

"Annie, please…"

Eren could feel Annie's breath slow down as she probably passed out. _She is fine, _he thought to himself, _she is fine._

He, on the other hand, kept on going. He couldn't feel his toes, but he was still walking. He couldn't keep his eyes open, but he was still watching. His limbs were aching, but he kept on holding on to the one he loves.

Eren's legs began to stagger and stumble from time to time, but he didn't stop. He recovered, and continued on.

His breath was shaky and distorted. He couldn't make it any longer. So he decided one last thing.

He stumbled to his knees, and called out, "HELP!" Before finally falling, face-first, into the snow, turning on his side. He held on tight to Annie.

He held on for her dear life. Even as he passed out.

The next thing that happened surprised him. He was able to open his eyes. He heard the sounds of people around him. He grunted, the people stopped talking. He heard one voice talk to him.

"-n...Eren...Eren!"

His head slowly lifted to see a girl with short black hair standing next to his bed. His sister.

Eren looked at her grey eyes. He blinked, "Annie…" He groaned.

Mikasa nodded, "She is okay. She just needs rest. She is with her family and friends. We were so worried, and luckily a man found you two and brought you to his place, he then called the hospital, who called us."

"I want to see her."  
Armin walked over, "I don't think that is a good id-"

"Please...please...let me see her."

Mikasa and Armin looked at each other, before looking at everyone else in the room. Jean, Marco, Krista, Ymir, Connie, and Sasha.

"What do you guys think?"

Jean shrugged, "I think it would be good."

Marco smiled, "It _would_ be great for him."

Krista looked at Ymir, "He wants to see her, let him."

Ymir turned her head from Krista to Eren, "If Krista and I were separated, I would want to see her."

Krista smiled and leaned up to kiss her girlfriend on the cheek. Ymir smiled back.

Connie and Sasha looked at each other, smiling, they looked at Eren, "Let him." They said simultaneously.

Annie was in the next room over, still unconscious, but alive and well. From time to time, she muttered something that could not be heard.

"What do you think she is talking about?" Mina turned to Reiner, getting in his face.

Reiner leaned back, "Mina...I don't know, probably something about fighting or...something."

Mina turned back to her best friend, "I think it's about Eren…"

Bertholdt nodded, "Probably, psychologically."

Reiner huffed, "You and your stupid psychology degree."

Bertholdt hit his friend on the shoulder. Reiner turned and hit him back.

"Guys, stop." Hitch said, standing on Annie's other side, "Not in front of Annie."

Reiner and Bertholdt stopped, "Alright."

Suddenly, the doors to the room opened, and Mikasa came in, rolling Eren on a wheelchair, "Hey guys." She said, "Eren wanted to see his fiance."

Mina smiled and nodded, "Sure, go ahead."

Eren was wheeled up to his love. He smiled, seeing her alive and okay. He grabbed her hand and held it. Tears began to fall from his eyes, "I am...so glad…"

The other friends stood by and watched the display of affection.

_**One Month Later**_

"You may now kiss the bride."

Eren turned to look at his love, grabbing the corners of her veil and lifting it over her head, exposing her beautiful face to the light. She smiled, readjusting her leg, which had a brace on it.

He cupped her cheeks and leaned down slowly, their lips connecting in a loving manner as they sealed their marriage under the gazebo at Chateau Isly, in Dordogne, France.

A roar of applause and joy flew through the air as Eren and Annie pulled back, staring into each other's eyes.

The couple turned to their guests and smiled as they held each other's hands, never wanting to let go.

Holding onto each other for dear life.


	8. Day 8: Lies & Loyalty

"Fuck...Reiner...I hate you...so much."

"Annie...please...you're the best at this stuff...your father taught you all about-"

"My father was a dirty cop...he taught me this stuff, yes...I am trying to...ugh...I am trying to live a new life...you know me an-"

"Annie!" A young man's voice called from the house, a brunette head poking out of the doorway at the young woman and muscular man, "Everything okay out there?" His wide green eyes looked at her curiously, wondering who this other man was.

The light blonde girl looked over at the young man, smiling, "Everything is fine, Eren, thank you! Just an old friend from high school!"

Eren's eyes glanced from Annie to Reiner, hesitating before nodding, "O-of course, right, right. Sorry."

"No, it's fine. Just go back inside, hun, I will be there soon."

Eren smiled, "Alright, love you."

Annie nodded, "Love you too."

Eren smiled again before closing the door, leaving the criminal with the queen.

Reiner looked to Annie, "Boyfriend?"

Annie shook her head, holding her hand up to show a ring on her finger, "Fiance."

Reiner's eyes lit up, "Oh! Congratulations...why wasn't I invited to the wedding?"

She narrowed her eyes at the man she used to call a friend, "Because I am fucking done with you, you hear me? Done."

"Just one more time, Annie. Please, if someone finds out about this, I am done."

"And why does this concern me?"

"Because...because...if you don't…" He looked around for a reason, before his eyes settled on the house, "I'll kill Eren."

Annie's eyes widened, "I'll kill you."

"I have Bertholdt- remember Bertholdt?- I have Bertholdt waiting for me. He will find out something is wrong if I don't come back...he will come here...with company…"

Annie looked down, "Reiner...why would you do this?"

"Because you fucked with us, leaving us behind."

"I am done. I was done. I…" She looked back at the house, sighing, looking like she was trying to hold back tears, putting the back of her hand to her mouth, "Fine...fine...leave it here, I will get to it."

Reiner smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Thanks, Anni-"

Annie shook his hand away, "Let go...let go of me...just go...and never come back."

Reiner took a few steps back, "Fine...fine...have fun with your fiance." He hissed, bitter coming out of his mouth like spit. He turned and walked over to his car, a beat up old thing.

The sound of a key being inserted reached Annie's ears as she strolled over, the bigger man opening the trunk to reveal a duffle bag. He took a zipper and pulled it across, exposing what was inside to the air.

A body.

"Who is he?" Annie asked, looking at the corpse.

"That is not important. Just get rid of it."

Annie cocked an eyebrow before shaking her head, "Fine." She reached over and zipped the bag close. She picked it up and hoisted it over her shoulder, grunting from the weight. As she carried it away, she said back to Reiner, "Now please, fuck off."

She heard the trunk close, then the car door open before closing. The sound of the car starting up synced with the sound of the body hitting the floor out of sight of Eren. She straightened her back, reaching up to push her fringe out of her face, "Okay, just make it seem normal. Taking out some trash." She said, taking a deep breath before walking inside.

Eren's head snapped to the door, smiling at his fiance, "Everything good? Can we continue the movie? I got some more popcorn. I kinda...ate the last batch."

Annie smiled and nodded, "Everything is fine. And I just wanted to throw away some trash before I forgot and I needed to call Mina, I forgot to tell her to do a report. I am sorry."

Eren shook his head, "No, no, baby, just go do your things, I will be here. I will make another bowl of popcorn if I have to." He said, laughing.

She laughed with him, nodding before walking into the kitchen to get the garbage, "Just a moment, hun, I love you."

Eren walked over and kissed her, "You sure you don't want me to take it out for you?"

Annie nodded, kissing him back, "Yeah, I got this, don't worry."

"I am not worrying...I will just wait."

Annie smiled, "Alright, be back soon."

She walked into the kitchen, reaching into the trash can to pull out the bag, closing it by pulling the bands. She slung it over her shoulder before walking past her fiance, "Just a minute babe." She said again, smiling to him. He returned a smile, "I'll be waiting."

As she walked outside, she quietly picked up the duffel bag with one hand, being quite strong for her small frame. She got out of sight of the windows, using a hand to open a garbage bin and throw the trash inside.

Annie then walked over to the garage grabbing the underside to pull it up slightly, place the duffel bag on the floor and nudge it under the door to the other side with her foot. Slowly she lowered the door, trying to be quiet.

She rested her forearm on the door, placing her forehead on it. Slowly, she began to cry, her eyes closed but tears still tearing their way through, wetting the sleeve of her pullover.

She was done, she just wanted to be left alone. Before this, before she met Eren, she used to be a criminal, taught by her father. She and her friends, Reiner and Bertholdt, began to rob banks and do other crimes when they were of age. After her father passed away, she decided to quit. Not too long after, she met Eren, and changed her ways.

A year has passed since then, and Eren had proposed. Now, her past is back. She just needs to get rid of this body, that's all. Then, she is done. Done.

The young woman took a deep breath before nodding and walking back inside, looking perfectly normal.

Eren cocked an eyebrow at her, "Everything okay?"

Annie nodded, "Yeah, just thought I saw a raccoon. It wasn't. Anyway, I am going upstairs to make that call. It will be quick."

Eren smiled, "That's fine, Ann."

Annie began to walk upstairs, "I don't deserve you."

"You so do."

Annie shook her head as she pulled out her phone, dialing her friend Mina before putting it up to her ear, "Come on, Mina...please…"

The phone rang three times, extending Annie's anxiety, before finally, the girl picked up, "Annie? It's kinda late."

"I know, Mina, I apologize, but...Reiner came...and he brought a body."

She heard silence on the other side for a moment, "...You need my help…" It wasn't a question.

"Yes...I am sorry-"

"Don't apologize, Annie...alright...I can get some help...we will clean your mess up...only because you are my friend, and have so much of your life in front of you."

Annie nodded, "Thank you...Mina, really…"

"Hey, don't mention it. If Reiner comes by again...I will be able to clean his death up."

Annie smirked, "Alright, sounds good. I have to get going."

"Oh right, it's movie night. Well I will come at midnight when you two are asleep. Garage?"

"Yes, the only place you can get into and out quickly and quietly."

"Alright, I left it there."

"Cool, have fun with your boy."

Annie chuckled, "Thanks, I will."

She hung up, smiling to herself before descending the stairs. She stopped at the foot of the stairs, her eyes looking around, noticing her fiance was not in the room.

Her eyes widened.

The door to the garage was open.

She ran into the garage, seeing the duffel bag gone. Vanished into thin air.

A hand crept up to her mouth, "Oh god...Eren!" She dashed out of the garage, "Eren!"

"Down here." His voice was heard coming from the basement, which the door to was slightly open. She began to feel tears fall down her cheeks as she walked down, stressing over something to say. Lie? I have already lied to him once tonight. I don't think I can do it again. Not to him.

As she reached the bottom step, she looked up to see something she did not expect.

Eren walked over to a blue barrel with a jug in hand. He twisted the top off of the jug before pouring it into the barrel. He glanced over at her, "Can you grab the other jug, please?"

Annie's blue eyes spotted the jug and picked it up, bringing it to the barrel. She unscrewed the top and poured it in, "What is this stuff?"

Eren turned his head to look at her before putting his empty jug down and walked over to a blue tarp. He pulled it off, revealing the body, "Hydrochloric acid."

Annie's eyes widened, "We are…"

"We are getting rid of the body."

"I...I lied to you...I'm sorry." She said, putting the empty jug down

Eren walked over and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her on the cheek, "You did it to protect me, I know...but...I found out about you a while ago. Being a journalist, I couldn't help but run a check on you. It's alright, you are done with it. We are getting married. I proposed to you. And that means…we are loyal to the end."

Annie began to feel tears come again, "I don't deserve you."

Eren pulled back, wiping away the tears, "Come on, don't cry...we got a body to rid of."

Annie smiled and pulled away, wiping the tears with her sleeve, "Yeah...yeah…let's do it."

Eren smiled before looking at the barrel, "It's a bit small, we won't be able to get the whole body in...intact."

Annie smirked, "I will get the knives."

Eren smirked back, "I'll get the cleaning materials."


End file.
